


Letter to Lord Sesshomaru

by sunflower--killingmoon (Guichelove)



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Adult-Rin, F/M, Family Drama, Other, Post-InuYasha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-08 09:01:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 29
Words: 70,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6848110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guichelove/pseuds/sunflower--killingmoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started with a letter, in which Rin let Sesshoumaru know her feelings for him. After spending a handful of years in modern age Tokyo, Rin comes back to the feudal era as an adult to resolve her fate with Sesshoumaru. Are they really meant for each other? Can Rin be strong enough? Is Sesshoumaru up to the test? This story goes through the sacrifices and tough decisions inside different kinds of relationships, taking place ten years after Naraku was defeated. Miroku and Sango are the leaders of the village, and Inuyasha is it's protector. Kagome is a famous writer, who keeps transiting between present and past. Rin has now grown up, and has her own dilemmas, in a deep search of what she wants to become. </p><p>PHASE A. - from chapter 1 to chapter 18<br/>PHASE B. - from chapter 19 to chapter ???</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Inuyasha doesn't belong to me. This is only a work of fiction.

Dear Lord Sesshomaru,

It’s been snowing again. I can see perfectly every flake of snow falling outside my window. This winter hasn’t been strong like the last one. Children were playing outside earlier, and I could hear their laughs from up here. If you’re wondering from where I’ve been writing this from, please don’t worry. I am the safest I could be, inside my own room.

The last time I saw you was about five years ago, if I can remember well. I know, it was my own choice to leave lady Kaede and the village to move to the futuristic realm where Kagome is from. You must have wondered, mylord, about the time I have spent here. I was admitted to a boarding school in Kobe, a city not far from Tokyo. The school domain is a big property, with a beautiful garden. The huge four leveled mansion in the middle is the school itself, with all bedrooms included.

I also found out many talents I didn’t know I had, mylord. I practiced nursing and musical instrumenting. Last year I traveled to many different places with the school orchestra to play string instruments. I often think that if I stayed in the village, I would never know I could do so much - since I can’t fight, like you do. Anyway, the purpose of this letter is not only talk about what I’ve done. You’ve always told me, Lord Sesshomaru, to do everything I wanted, if I so chose. If life is really about what we want, I would like to tell you what I want. 

I know I have potential to stay in the big city and be a musician of an orchestra. These five years have shown me what I can become and put my wishes to test. I have embraced all those experiences. At the same time, I’ve been feeling this void, this strange emptiness, and nothing can heal it completely. The last time I felt this way was when I was still getting used to live in the village and being raised by lady Kaede. I only felt better when you visited me and sent me gifts. I was only in my early teens at the time, but I was aware of what my heart was trying to tell me, and that scared me to death. It was one of the reasons I had to get far from you. The same feeling has come back, and I simply can not stop thinking about you, and now I regret that I have left.

I wonder, if I had chosen the village over the city, and you over everything else… Would I be equally satisfied or happier? Would the emptiness disappear? Would you correspond to the feelings I have for you? The truth is, mylord, that I really love you. Always had. I was only too young to deal with it. I am older now, and sure of I want, but how about you? Do you still see me as a child? Have you ever thought of me being something more than a traveling companion or friend? I know, those are too many questions, and you’re not exactly the talkative type, so answer them if you want. I have a couple of months off until I do any applications for university, and I am going to spend this time in the village, with Inuyasha and his friends… And I’ll be waiting for you, Lord Sesshomaru.

Love,  
Rin.  


Ps: Please tell Jaken I miss him too.


	2. Kagome's at home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome and Inuyasha, plus a surprise in the end.

Twenty-five-year-old Kagome took a cab from the train station back to her house. Oh, how did she miss those tiring stairs. She had arrived just in time for lunch. Her mother was extremely glad to see her, as well as her grandpa, who was alive and well. A little bit slower, due to his advanced age, but he was still the same. Tomoko, their new cat, was a black ball of fat and fur, and occupied the same spots of the house as Buyo did when he was alive. The house was more silent than usual, she recognized. Kagome couldn’t hear Souta. He was packing his stuff and soon would move to university to study Medicine. He had been trying to pass the exam for three years, and finally made it.

“Mama, where’s my brother at?”, naively asked the woman.

“Sorry to bring the news, darling. Souta left yesterday. We all thought you would come back in time to say goodbye!”, Mrs. Higurashi explained.

Kagome shed a tear. She wished she was there, but it was no use crying over spilt milk anymore. It was okay. She would make time to visit him the next time she travelled to promote any of her books. Kagome had studied literature and feudal history and culture when in college, and she used her own experiences to add on her knowledge, which inspired her to write series of books dedicated to that theme. Some of her work did even top the bestseller list for several weeks in Japan. Kagome couldn’t be happier.

At night, the famous Higurashi was on her computer, answering fanmail. She loved getting in contact with readers and professors to discuss her theories of what feudal life was like. She thought he heard a noise on the roof. When opening the window of her bedroom, a figure made itself present, sitting right in front of her. It was Inuyasha. He had changed a little in those ten years. He looked a bit more like an adult, at last. He got a little bit taller, gained muscular mass, and his voice was less raspy. 

“Inuyasha, what a surprise!”, Kagome exclaimed, happy to see him.

“I missed you, Kagome”, he admitted, and then stepped inside her bedroom.

She walked fast across the bedroom to shut the door. As soon as she turned around, Inuyasha was already pressing her against it, kissing her. Kagome threw herself in his arms. It had been six weeks since they didn’t see each other. Inuyasha himself didn’t know how he was able to wait that long. It was a new milestone. Either way, he had a lot to do in feudal era to be distracted with. The bigger their village got, the more demons and bandits it attracted. It wouldn’t take long until they all got aware of his presence, along with Miroku and Sango. Their names were famous and feared by their enemies, for they knew what the group of heroes was capable of.

Inuyasha was already in Kagome’s bed, shirtless, waiting for her to finish whatever that was inside the rectangular piece of metal. Minutes and more minutes went by, and she was still there, looking inside the bright screen. For a moment, Inuyasha thought that some kind of demon was bewitching her, because she was so focused. He was twirling his silver hair, impatient.

“Kagome, are you coming to bed or not?”

“I’m going Inuyasha, don’t worry”

The woman finally shut down her laptop. Before joining Inuyasha, Kagome changed into babydoll pajamas, in front of him. He blushed and smiled, and got a bit turned on. Kagome’s bed was small for them both, but they liked it, because they could sleep very close to each other. Intimately, Inuyasha was very different from his day-by-day self. He was loving, caring, and devoted. Kagome already knew that for having observed his late relationship with Kikyou before. And even when they were dating, at first, she didn’t feel Inuyasha was a 100% there. It was only after they had sex for the first time that she was sure that Inuyasha really loved her. Maybe it was because she could give him what Kikyou couldn’t, back then. It was his first time, as well as Kagome’s first time. 

After they shared news about both worlds, the hanyou and his girlfriend started making out. Inuyasha rolled on top Kagome, and undressed her again, slowly, while covering every inch of her skin with kisses. She caressed his head and lovely dog ears in a way that made him feel good. They made love silently, not to wake up mama and grandpa. The old man would slit his throat if he found out that his granddaughter and him were banging under his roof. They managed to hide it from him for eight years now.

When they were done, Kagome put the used condom in the trash. Inuyasha almost never asked why he had to put that on, but this time, he was curious.

“Why do need this again? I don’t remember what you said the last time”

“If we didn’t use it, we would have as many kids as Miroku and Sango. I always tell you that when we want to have a baby, we sh-”

“We should plan it carefully first. I know”, he sighed, and put an arm around her when she joined him again. “I only think that, if we keep waiting for the right time, we might as well wait forever”.

Kagome never knew he had a desire to raise a family with her, and was very surprised when the issue came up. She wanted that too, but she also wanted a professional career. It was going to be tough to conceal a family torn between two worlds and her job, but life wasn’t meant to be easy, or else it would be pointless. She wanted one kid. One was enough.

“Alright. I think we can have a baby”, she smiled at him. “I have stability in my job, we got two houses to raise the kid and many other children for he or she to be friends with”

“I love you Kagome, and when we have a baby you can count on me. I will do my best!”

The next morning was kind of embarrassing. Kagome’s mother opened the door of her bedroom and found the couple there together, asleep. Inuyasha was still asleep, but Kagome woke up with the noise of the door and the sound of her voice saying “good morning”. The hanyou was entangled with her inside the sheets and she couldn’t get up to explain herself to her mom. She wasn’t mad at them, anyway, she always suspected that was happening, and it must have happened a lot of times already, along the years. Her daughter was a grown up, and she had the right to be happy. When the couple got proper dressed and came downstairs to have breakfast with the rest of the family, grandpa entered home holding the mail. One more paycheck of book sells to Kagome, a notification from Souta’s university telling that he had already found installations and was sharing his room with other three classmates, and a letter.  
“Humm… I know that smell”, commented Inuyasha.

“What smell, Inuyasha?”, Kagome was curious.

Grandpa Higurashi got the letter in his hands, smiled, and said:

“This one is from Rin, to Kagome and Inuyasha”

The couple looked in each other’s eyes. They were handed in the envelope and opened it carefully, together. There were two letters inside the envelope. The first one addressed to the two of them and the second one… To Lord Sesshomaru.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, anyone? Am I doing this right?


	3. The village now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miroku, Sango, and their children. Inuyasha and Kagome come to tell them Rin's wish and discuss what to do with it.

“Go get him, daddy!”, yelled a girl from behind a bush.

“You’re almost there, daddy!”, cheered another girl, identical to the first one.

A loud screech emanated from inside the house the two kids were spying from outside. A giant worm broke the roof from the inside to expose itself. The creature’s body was elongated like a snake, and the head divided into inumerous little mouths, with lots of pointy and dangerous teeth. A man, so much smaller than the monster, made fast his way up on the roof, to where the heads were, screaming, disorientated. It was Miroku. As soon as he got the chance, he swung his shakujou at the demon, cutting all of his heads off. With a final attack he destroyed it. He smiled as the weird monster became dust and was carried by the wind, and cleaned the sweat of his forehead. The monk had become a lot stronger since the death of Naraku and the extinction of his wind tunnel. 

“Daddy, that was so amazing!”, the twins came out and ran to hug their father.

“When I grow up, I want to slay demons like you and mommy do!”

Miroku looked at them with pride. They were still so little, yet had plans to follow their parents steps. Their names were Emi and Ami. They were ten years old. The brother born after them was eight and was named Tayouchu. Sango and him, in the years that followed had one more boy, Ikko, three years old, and at that moment she was expecting again. She was, in fact, a super mother. Miroku had seen her fighting with a baby on her back. She was very tough, and that made her very respected in the village. When Kaede died, she kind of took her place, but always divided her administrative duties with her friends.

Miroku and his girls picked their brother Tayouchu at the house of a friend. When they got home, Sango was reunited with local farmers to take notes of their production, if it was enough for the population. After everything was carefully discussed, the farmers thanked her for her time and left. Ikko ran to hug his father, while the other kids went to Sango’s embrace. They made some tea and spent some time together, watching the children play. In a matter of weeks they would welcome another member in the family. 

“Even though we have kids, this place is so quiet without Kagome and Inuyasha…”, commented Sango.

“And Shippou decided to travel by himself to ‘grow up’...”, completed Miroku.

They sighed together. Not late after their complaint, Inuyasha and  
Kagome burst through the front door. As soon as she got off his back, the hanyou rolled to the children’s direction and said:

“Uncle Inuyasha is back, and you’re not gonna escape from me this time!”, 

All four kids screamed and started running around the whole house, and Inuyasha was chasing them. Miroku, Sango, and Kagome laughed and observed them playing. That was the sound they’ve been missing. Even Sango’s unborn child started moving from excitement. Kagome touched her belly, enchanted, and admired by her confidence in herself. Women of modern Japan were not prepared for having such numerous family.

“Are you never gonna have kids?”, asked Sango, making Kagome blush.

“He kind of told me he wants a baby last night”, she said.

“And do you want a baby, Kagome?”

“I’m just waiting for the right moment, guys. My plan is having just one”.

“That’s the spirit, Kagome!”, Miroku encouraged her. “Inuyasha is good with kids, as you can see. He will be a wonderful father just like I am”.

Sango pulled her husband’s ear.

“You are such a selfless monk, aren’t you?!”

Late at afternoon, Kagome visited some villagers seeking her powers as a priestess to cure illnesses caused by the presence of evil spirits. It was a slow process, until the victims were finally free. Her last patient, an old lady, would need at least two more sessions. She came back home with gifts and flowers she was given along the way. Then, she thought about Rin. In her letter, she only permitted Kagome to read what she had to say to Sesshomaru. Rin wanted them to search for Sesshomaru and give her letter in his hands. 

She knew how hard it would be to find him. He didn’t have the need to go back to the village anymore, because she wasn’t there. Rin trusted in their strength and skill to run after Sesshomaru and deliver the message. It was very important for Rin to know if it was possible to live the love of her life, before she decided to be a forever traveling musician, with little freedom to date and develop a personal connection with anyone. The rules of classical music business were too strict. She had to make a choice: whether Rin would live to work, or Rin would love to live - there was no in between.

The two couples had supper together, and then put the kids to sleep. The second floor of their home was only used as their bedroom. The other bedrooms were located downstairs. Inuyasha looked at the bedroom which belonged to Rin until five years before. Her scent didn’t linger in there. He decided to bring the news first.

“Rin is coming back, guys”

“WHAT?!”, Sango and Miroku spoke together.

“She says she is in love with Sesshomaru, and wants to know if he feels the same about her”, explained Kagome. “She wants me and Inuyasha to hand him a letter”.

“Poor Rin, she’s too young! She doesn’t know what she’s doing!”, Sango was very surprised.

“That’s what I think as well”, said the hanyou. “Sesshomaru is nothing like me. He doesn’t love anyone. He’s the most selfish youkai in the world.”

Miroku was silent, thinking. He was not as pessimist as the others around him. As a believer of love, he would support Rin, even if she made a mistake. He remembered how it was, when Sesshomaru visited her and gave her lots of gifts. He was indeed very affectionate to her. On the day Rin decided to move to the future world, he sensed a lot of frustration inside Sesshomaru’s heart, he could feel it. If the dog demon lord was as selfish as Inuyasha said, he wouldn’t care about Rin leaving. 

“I think you should go and accomplish Rin’s wish”, said the monk. He got an approval look from Kagome. 

“I also think we should go, Inuyasha.”, Kagome remembered it too, the frustration of Sesshomaru’s heart. It was mixed within his demonic aura, something she never had experienced before.

“You gotta be kidding, Kagome. The last thing I want to do is to meet my brother”, complained Inuyasha. “We should tear her letter in shreds and tell her we couldn’t find him. It would save us the trip”.

Kagome huffed in anger and disappointment… And ordered:

“SIT BOY!”

Boom! Inuyasha was facing the floor. It had been such long time since she punished him he forgot how painful it was.

“Okay, okay! We’re going!”

Inuyasha and Kagome went off in search of Sesshomaru two days after that. It was surely going to be a long journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank FarAwayEyes4 for reading this. Thanks and I hope you're liking it so far. :)


	4. Sesshomaru versus the volcano goddess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Sesshomaru in all those ten years? (part one)

The great dog youkai had been enjoying his freedom for five years. Rin was well settled in the village with all those people he despised, including his half breed brother Inuyasha, but it was for the best. They all had a good heart - and Rin thought his heart was good too, but it wasn’t enough to keep her safe. Thinking back about the time she used to follow him, he remembered how careless he had been, to the point of losing her twice, plus all those near misses: Ongukuki, Naraku, Magatsuhi… His hunger for fighting strong enemies and his impulsiveness had almost cost him someone so precious to him. What the hell was in his mind when he used to leave Rin under the care of Jaken, who could barely defend himself? Things were great the way they were before, which Sesshomaru managed to bring back. Only him, Jaken, and Ah-Un traveling to the edges of their universe.

Sesshomaru once heard about a certain volcano god, who ruled a realm of extreme conditions. Excessive heat, rivers of scolding lava cutting through volcanic rock ground. In the middle of it all there was safe greenland and an immense castle, which belonged to the volcano god himself. Sesshomaru wanted to defeat him to become stronger. Confident that he would trick the natural defense forces that surrounded the castle, the daiyoukai flew over the danger and landed right at the entrance of the home. After knocking down twenty guards, he demanded:

“Is that all you’ve got? Come here and fight! I challenge you, volcano god!”

Jaken was already sweating from being so terrified.

“I don’t think this is a good idea, my lord!”

“Shut up Jak-”, while Sesshomaru got distracted by his servant, a sudden earth tremor approached them. CRACK! SWUSH! A gush of lava erupted from the ground and moved rapidly towards them.

Sesshomaru only had time to look up and see that someone was controlling the lava. At the same instant, the liquified fire involved them and turned into stone. The weight of the capsule pinned them down. Turned out that the floor beneath them was fake, and it opened up, making Sesshomaru and Jaken fall into a chamber inside the castle. When they finally stopped, the first thing that the youkai did was to hit Jaken in the head. The small creature started crying and clung onto his fur.

“I am so, so sorry, Lord Sesshomaru! I deserve to die for this! Oooh! I’m such a bad servant!”

“Stop screaming, Jaken”. 

Sesshomaru sensed the walls of their capsule weakening, and used his poisoned claws to tear it open. It was unbearably hot inside there. It looked like it was the main hall of the castle. Cascades of lava surrounded it on all four walls. Up ahead there was a crystal throne, with a lady sitting on it. Her dark red hair’s length didn’t pass her chin. Beautifully tanned skin, with delicious fit body traits and out-topping curves. Her dress didn’t cover much. It looked like that woman came from a paradise, but no, she born from the volcano, after years of demon sacrifices being offered to the great big hole on the top of the mountain. 

She got up, and Sesshomaru prepared his poisoned claws again.

“Who are you?”

“I thought you knew… For making such a trip to this unusual place”, she walked nearer them.

“I want to fight with the volcano god, and if I have to get through you first, I won’t hesitate. I doesn’t matter if you’re female”, warned Sesshomaru.

“Fool… I am the volcano god. Goddess… To be more precise”.

Sesshomaru didn’t waste a single chance to defer an attack against her, but she evaded it and defended herself with a stream of lava, that hit Sesshomaru on the side of his kimono. He had to remove it in order to stop burning. Jaken could smell his master’s flesh, and worried about him.

“She did hurt you, my lord! Finish her at once!”

“Who the hell do you think you are?!”, demanded Sesshomaru, angry at the fact he was injured.

“I am Hiniiro, the volcano goddess! You can’t kill me to have my strength. It would only cause disturbance. Earthquakes would tear lands apart and swallow thousands of humans and youkai, only so I can be reborn”.

Sesshomaru wished she was lying, but this time he wouldn’t let his impulsiveness take the wheel. He wouldn’t risk Rin’s life again for his hunger for power. The question was, would Hiniiro let him go? Sesshomaru let down his guard, showing signs of desistance and walked to the exit, but the lava cascade didn’t cease. His wound was still burning. Jaken kneeled before Hiniiro and pleaded:

“Let us go, Lady Hiniiro, please! We shall never bother you again! Lord Sesshomaru only wished to become stronger, not break balance of the universe!”

Sesshomaru kept silent.

“Is that so?” Hiniiro walked past Jaken. 

She thought Sesshomaru was very good looking, but his mind was so lost. She knew he had been searching for endless power for almost all his life and felt pity of him. 

“Even though you are strong, you lack resistance against fire and acid burns…”

“I don’t want your pity. Don’t force me to open my way out alone”.

“You don’t have to, Lord Sesshomaru. I think you are worthy of my strength and I will give you some of it and then let you go”.

Sesshomaru knew that it wouldn’t be that simple.

“What will that cost me?”, he asked.

“A bit of your time. The only way I can pass my power to you is through the heat of my body. You must satisfy me in order to get it”.

Jaken was filled with all the embarrassment that Sesshomaru should have felt. 

“How impolite! You shouldn’t make such proposition to a lord!”

“Quiet Jaken”, said Sesshomaru. “I accept”.

Sesshomaru let Jaken behind, waiting, while he followed Hiniiro and her servants. The lava cascade diminished. Relieving them from the discomfort. Hiniiro and Sesshomaru headed to the goddess quarters. The door was shut and they were alone. 

She turned her back on him and started talking about anything. Seshomaru didn’t want to hear about it. He only wanted to get over with it, So he undressed, ripped Hiniiro’s clothes off of her, and promptly climbed on her back. 

“I’m not a fan of doggy style”, she pushed him and scratched his face with her nails. The cuts burned like lava, exactly like it hurt in his ribs. “Be gentle, would you?”.

Treating Hiniiro the way she wanted was harder than fighting demons. To be submissive to her was excruciating, but he was so focused in achieving his objective, that he made it work. They were mating. The last time Sesshomaru did it was centuries ago. In the end, Hiniiro reached climax, which made her skin pores exhale a sort of of red vapor. It entered Sesshomaru’s body, as he came and finished off.

The dog demon lord surely felt different after the experience. As soon as he got off bed, his wounds started healing. There was something else that was given back to him, which he had abdicated a long time ago, in order to become powerful: his sexuality and his feelings. He would not let the world notice it though, or he may be considered weaker. Jaken was waiting for his master. The exit was open.

“Lord Sesshomaru! I thought you wouldn’t come back alive! No! I mean, I knew you were fine all along!”, the small youkai cheered. “They have restored your kimono!”

It seemed like nothing at all had happened to Sesshomaru, but only he knew how much that changed him, and he hated that it happened. He hoped he never had to come back to that place again. Sesshomaru put on his kimono again and headed out.

“We’re going, Jaken”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello ghosts. I didn't give up on this yet!


	5. Sesshomaru's son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Sesshomaru during all those 10 years? (part two)
> 
> Sesshomaru is led once again to the volcano goddess domains, but for a different reason.

Thought it had been several months since Sesshomaru’s adventure at Hiniiro’s volcanic lands, he constantly thought about it. He noticed the way he treated Rin has changed. Last time he visited her, he knew she was upset about his behaviour. Rin, as a 13 year-old teen, had been changing as well. She was no longer happy only with his presence, like before. She often asked him a lot of questions and demanded time from him. Before he rarely answered, and never allowed her to say much as well, ‘cause it bothered him. The next time he came back he was oddly respectful and patient with Rin. Even Jaken was not accustomed to such kindness from his lord. 

Afraid of what others would have thought if they noticed, like Jaken had just done, Sesshomaru suddenly became rough and senseless towards Rin again, which confused her. Rin was developing some kind of crush for her lord by then, but her young age didn’t allow her to understand that weird fixation for Sesshomaru. She only knew that his inconstancy only made her heart ache. 

One of those days, the village was stroke by strong earthquakes. The tremors were not only happening in one spot though, but almost in everywhere. The lands shook again and again for almost the whole night. Sesshomaru wouldn’t get troubled by it, because Rin was safe. In the morning that followed, he was surprisingly alarmed by a different scent in the air. Sesshomaru was certain that it was coming from Hiniiro’s castle. He didn’t know what was it, but he sensed a presence of a new youkai coming from that direction. “Why was he able to smell it from so far away?”, Jaken asked himself. Sesshomaru didn’t want to tell him, but that scent was unexplainably similar to his own.

Sesshomaru flew directly to his desired direction. Ah-Un followed closely, and was ridden by Jaken. The gates to the castle, unlike the last time, were open, and it looked as if the guards and servants had been waiting for him. Ah-Un was left eating grass nearby. Sesshomaru landed and walked through the entrance, with Jaken behind him, feeling suspicious about it all. They made way for the great dog lord, who didn’t question their permissive reception. A group of female servants led him to the main quarters of the castle.

His memories of the day he and Hiniiro mated came back to him. He was going to that same bedroom, but he didn’t know what for that time. He had no intention to mate her again. Although he was thankful to the self healing powers that were given to him, Hiniiro also disgraced him for awakening his positive emotions. 

“Sesshomaru”, spoke the volcano goddess. She was turning back on him, and facing the window. “Welcome back”.

Sesshomaru could smell blood. The maids were just changing the sheets of her bed, which had large stains of reddish fluids. But the smell that drew him back to the castle was much more stronger. It was coming from Hiniiro herself, but it was not within her. It was attached to her somehow… 

“What are you hiding?”, presumed the dog demon. “Show it to me, whatever you're holding against you”, he commanded, curious to death.

Hiniiro smiled devilishly with the corner of her mouth, and then finally turned around. Sesshomaru’s eyes opened so wide in surprise, he couldn’t believe what was before him. As always, he couldn’t express himself into words. He felt like his brain had shut down. Jaken was so small he had to climb on Sesshomaru’s shoulder to know what was going on. Hiniiro was holding a newborn baby in her arms. 

“The child was born only a few hours ago”, she said. Sesshomaru was still frozen. “It’s a boy”.

“LORD SESSHOMARU! YOU HAVE BEEN GIFTED WITH AN HEIR!”, Jaken spat out, unable to control his excitement.

“He ain’t no son of mine”, the youkai pushed Jaken off of his shoulder, bothered by his happiness. He didn’t want to get contaminated with it.

Hiniiro belly laughed at him. Before he decided to turn and walk away, she suddenly approached him and gave him the baby to be held. Sesshomaru hesitated.

“C’mon… Don’t be such a bad parent”. 

Sesshomaru found it surprising that he couldn’t say no to most of things she compelled him to do. Was it because of the vapor he absorbed from her, or was it because he wanted? Even if he didn’t like Hiniiro, she was the one who led him to change, and now she was the mother of his child… If that really was his, anyway.

“Look”, she pointed to his forehead. There was a crescent moon on it, and also the same double marking on his cheeks. His skin was tanned like his mother’s, and the little bit of hair he had was dark red, but the rest was pretty much like him. “Are still going to deny he is yours?”

“Does he have a name?”, he asked. Sesshomaru didn’t take his eyes from the moon on his forehead for a second. There couldn’t be better proof than that.

“It is Seijin”.

“Humm…”, he hummed in understandment. Jaken interpreted his humming different, though.

“What a terrible choice! Can’t you see how unsatisfied my lord is?”

“I won’t change it”, the goddess shrugged. "I have mated other worthy youkai before you, but my body never allowed me to have their children. It curiously allowed your seed to develop inside me".

“Jaken, not another word”, Sesshomaru tried to prevent Jaken from saying anything he shouldn't. The baby started crying without an apparent reason, and he did not know what to do.

Hiniiro took Seijin again to breastfeed him. It was the second time ever she had done it. That was the moment Sesshomaru decided it was best to leave. He didn’t want to be part of a family drama. He was never meant to be a father and that idea despised him, because it remind him of his own father. 

“You don’t have to be present if you don’t want to, but pay him a visit once in a while, would you?”, she asked. Seijin stopped crying as soon as he latched on her.

“Fine”, Sesshomaru decided. “I’ll come every year, on his birthday”.

Sesshomaru had from then on two obligatory reasons to stop his search for power: Rin, and his son Seijin. He made Jaken swear on his life that he wouldn’t tell about it to anyone. Unfortunately, about six months following the birth of his son, Rin made the decision to leave the village and live in the world that was on the other side of the well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more chapter yay. Next one will be only on Rin.


	6. Rin's arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin travels back to the feudal era and finds out how things had changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> try to imagine Rin wearing this please:  
> http://www.polyvore.com/rins_outfit/set?id=199132368

Rin took a bus at nine the morning, from Kobe to Tokyo. She could have chosen the subway, to make a faster trip, but she wanted to enjoy the view. She imagined it would take a long time until she saw buildings, cars, and airplanes again. Rin was going back home. After three hours, the 18 year-old was beneath the stairway that led to the home of the Higurashi family. 

It took long to get up there. Rin had to climb the stairs and drag a large suitcase by herself. She was taller than most women, and very thin. Her type didn’t resume in weakness, though. She was a musician, after all, and for that her fingers, hands, and wrists were firm and strong. 

Mrs. Higurashi and grandpa were taking care of their flower garden, and saw the young woman’s struggle with her luggage. Mama came to her help.

“Rin, you’re home!”, she hugged Rin as if she was her daughter Kagome.

“Mama Higurashi, you don’t have to squeeze me”, Rin was breathless, but happy to see her. She greeted grandpa by kissing his cheek. “I missed you too”.

“Too bad Souta is not here to see you”, the elder said.

Rin felt a knot in her throat and blushed. Souta was her first boyfriend. It was because of him that Rin detached from the feudal era and embraced the new world. Souta gave her first kiss, and helped her catching up with school. It was too bad that it had to end. Rin thought it would be better not having anyone to think about when traveling with the orchestra. Thinking back, she regretted breaking up with him - if she knew that she would never see him again.

Rin didn’t want to linger to the future no longer. She belonged to the past, and didn’t even want to wait until the next day to come back. When the Higurashis were asleep, Rin wrote a goodbye note and headed straight to the well. She knew the path would only appear if she had a purpose - and she did have one: reunite with the love of her life, Lord Sesshomaru. Rin jumped and the fall seemed endless. 

It was so dark and so cold. Rin nearly forgot that there was no electricity, and therefore, no streetlights. She was lucky that the lights from the village shone bright enough to show her the way. It was obvious that it expanded since the last time she had been there. Rin noticed all those pretty new houses and smiled, as she walked across them. The wind blew, and she shivered - she was wearing a blue tiered top, jeans, and simple sandals. Her first instinct was to look for Kaede’s hut, to tell her she had come back, and to ask for shelter, since she didn’t have any. Rin was unfortunate to find out that Kaede’s place was gone, and that two residences were built on that spot. 

On the other side of the village, a middle aged man was sweating from anxiety and desperately knocked on the door of Miroku and Sango’s home. He was holding his fire lantern and the light captured the tracks of sweat rolling down his forehead. 

Miroku opened and he seemed very bothered, but changed as soon as he saw the man’s expression of terror.

“What’s going on? Are you alright?”

“I saw a ghost! It’s been wandering in the village! It stops and stares at people’s houses!”

“Alright, I will go expel it. You stay here until I come back”, said the monk.

Sango was awaken by the sound of Miroku running down to the village’s most populated region, shaking his shakujou while he moved. She found the scared man waiting in the living room, and went near to comfort him.

“Lady Sango, I didn’t mean to disturb you. You need to rest more than I do, because of the child that you carry”.

“It’s alright. I had plenty of sleep during the afternoon”, she held his hand and prayed for her husband’s safety.

Rin was sure she was going to catch a cold if she stayed out in the cold longer. She was afraid to ask anybody for shelter. Everybody was asleep and would hate to be awoken by an unknown person. Suddenly, Rin heard someone screaming at her from her back.

“Are you the ghost that’s been haunting the village tonight?”

Rin turned around and recognised the monk right away.

“Miroku!”

He jumped back and got his sacred sutras in hands.

“How did you know my name? You’re going down, ghost!”

“I am no ghost, I am human, made of flesh and bone”, she insisted.

“Let’s see about that!”, Miroku shot the sacred sutras at her and shouted. “EVIL SPIRIT, BE GONE!”

The sutras had no effect on her, because she was no ghost, and didn’t have a single drop of evil in her blood.

“I told you, Miroku. I was saying the truth. It’s me, Rin”, the young woman came closer. 

Miroku took a good look at her face. He wasn’t sure yet if that was the Rin that he knew, but she was beautiful. The monk held her hands, and smiled big, before assuming a charming position towards her.

“So, Rin, if that’s what your real name is… Would you consider bearing my ch-”

BANG! A triangular shaped rock had just hit Miroku’s head. It was, of course, Sango. She suspected something was wrong because her husband was taking too long. She was a couple of weeks from giving birth and still she was strong and ferocious like a beast.

“Miroku! What the heck are you doing?!”, she looked at the girl he was flirting with, and cried with joy. “Rin, is that you? Oh, my, you’re back!”

Sango hugged her so strongly and didn’t let go easily. Miroku still didn’t understand what the fuss was all about and how did Sango got to know a stranger.

“Well… It looks like I am the only one who doesn’t know this Rin”.

“Miroku, you fool! This is not any Rin. It’s our Rin!”, the expectant held Rin by the shoulders and shook her in front of the man.

The monk finally remembered how familiar her face was, and hugged her like Sango did. He would not grope her because his wife was keeping an eye on him. Rin hated to be squeezed, but coped with it not to disrespect them. 

During their way home, Miroku wouldn’t shut up about how tall she got, how different she became, how beautiful she was. Sango threatened to hit him again. Rin laughed quietly at them. They explained to the man who alarmed them about the ghost that everything was alright and that the woman was normal, after all.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on the house, Mr. Hotei. You can go home now”, Sango tranquilised him. 

Rin crashed on her own room. She had to confess she missed it, even though her mattress was thin and she could feel the hard floor against her body. The next morning was full of surprises and little happinesses. She was excited about seeing Ami, Emi, and Tayouchu - who had grown as much as she has. She learned about Ikko, who was born in her absence, and properly congratulated Sango and Miroku for the baby that would be born soon. Rin was told that Inuyasha and Kagome parted two days before her arrival. It was only a matter of time until they came back. All Rin had to do was re-adapt and enjoy another chapter of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, Rin is back.  
> Next chapter will focus on Kagome and Inuyasha mostly.


	7. Across Western Lands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome and Inuyasha reach the West, region once ruled by Inu no Taisho. They believe Sesshomaru might be found there, but find something else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank Judas Priest for helping me to get inspired. Kudos to the songs "Blood Stained" and "Burn In Hell".

Inuyasha and Kagome had been traveling for three and a half days. It was hard to catch up with someone that lives wandering about, without a home. The western lands belonged to Inu youkai families for a long, long time ago. Inu no Taisho was the responsible for its integrity. After cheating on his wife Inukimi with Izayoi, the great dog demon lord only became distant from his former duties. Everybody knows what happened in the end. His enemies found out about his human lover and hanyou baby, and used his love for them against himself, and his life was taken. Kagome almost never asked Inuyasha about it, because it was too painful to think about. Visiting his father’s domains made him feel very anxious.  
The couple was surprised to find out that people have explored those lands and built villages for them to live. That meant either that Sesshomaru was not interested in claiming father’s duty to sweep enemies from the region, or that he cleaned off so much territory that people found it safe to live in. Inuyasha was puzzled. Why would Sesshomaru let humans occupy the land if he hated them so much? Something weird happened to his brother in the last five to six years, and if Inuyasha was as much impertinent as he used to be, he would dig deep, until he found out the truth. 

“Maybe Rin’s departure made him change”, guessed Kagome, but Inuyasha wasn’t impressed with her theory.

“Humm… Not sure about this, Kagome. There’s much more about his life that we don’t know of. Rin leaving might have been simply a coincidence”, the Hanyou presumed.

The couple decided to walk down the hill towards the village they saw from up there. It was quite an exquisite place. Rather prosperous for only five years since its foundation. Humans and Youkai lived peacefully in there - nothing like all other villages they’ve been in. Kagome and Inuyasha felt so comfortable with each other, they held hands and there wasn’t a single disapproval in people’s eyes. It wasn’t everything perfect though. Not all demons were pleased or neutral towards the weak mortal specie. 

Inuyasha’s sword caught the attention of an old lady, that came to their encounter. She was short and her spine was curved, but she seemed healthy and very active. 

“Are you one of the two Inu no Taisho’s sons, by any chance?”

Inuyasha was feeling bashful about it. Almost no one knew who he was. 

“Yes…? I’m Inuyasha, the younger one”

“Oooh! I knew it!”, the elder lady clapped her hands in excitement and held Kagome’s arm. “And you are his companion, the priestess Kagome”.

“Exactly”, confirmed Kagome.  
She led them to her hut and introduced herself. The name was Mei Mei, and was quite a cheerful woman She told them that Sesshomaru was very praised and respected because he purged almost all evil youkai from his father’s land and allowed human families to move in, as long as nobody stood in his way. Inuyasha was rather surprised and confused. His brother claimed the west, but refused to assume it. Kagome felt bad for Sesshomaru. She understood that he decided his own fate, that was to be alone and always on the move. Even though Mei Mei knew a bunch about the Inu no Taisho’s descendants, confessed she hadn’t seen Sesshomaru lately.

“HEEEEELP!”, a scream was heard outside, followed by the sound of horses neighing in desperation.

“What now?!”, Inuyasha left the hut immediately, and held Kagome back to protect her of whatever that was. 

The monster was approximately ten feet tall, it had thick black fur all over of its body, long claws on four paws, and it could move either like an ordinary bear, or walk standing up, like it was doing at the moment. The tall bear roared so loud it caused the villagers to panic. The animal was chasing a couple of horses to eat and hurt people that stood in the way or tried to stop what it was doing.

“Who is that? And why is he being so destructive?”, Kagome was still behind her partner, figuring out what to do.

“That demon is called Onikuma! Legend says he was once a normal bear that ended up living longer than it should by gathering demonic power from his foes, and became this youkai bear”, Mei Mei told them.

Inuyasha stepped forward and exposed his Tetsusaiga blade.

“Just what I needed. Another demon created the way Naraku was!”

Before the hanyou attacked, Kagome slid under Inuyasha’s arm and pointed an arrow to Onikuma’s face.

“Inuyasha, we have to get him out of here, or your sword will cause as twice as damage!”, and then she shot. 

The sacred arrow hit the creature’s right eye, but didn’t hurt him. It only drew his attention to her and Inuyasha instead. Onikuma crouched and began to ran to their direction, thirsty for blood, drooling as he moved. 

“Crap! Look what you’ve done! We have to go!”, he screamed, while rushing Kagome to hump on his back, so they could escape. 

The chasing was amazing. They couldn’t prevent Onikuma from destroying dozens of roofs and fences as they avoided his bites and slashes. Trying to get some advantage, Inuyasha had an idea. 

“Hold on tight to my waist, Kagome!”

“Okay!”, she did as he said, because she trusted him. 

Inuyasha jumped and turned around, facing Onikuma. Kagome slid her body down and wrapped her hands around his body, letting his arms free to attack.

“IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!”

Inuyasha’s effort managed to slow Onikuma and remove a great amount of fur from his neck, although once again, he wasn’t harmed. The fighting duo ended up in a creek, in the middle of the forest. The river flow originated from a cave, and its entrance was hidden by a cascade’s watery foam. It would be a jaw-dropping view to observe, if it wasn’t for Onikuma’s restlessness. As soon as aligned with the enemy, the hanyou took Tetsusaiga and used the Wind Scar. It was the first time that Inuyasha smelled his blood. The bear youkai had severe cuts on his arms and legs, but wasn’t eliminated by the sword. Inuyasha tried again, this time with Adamant Barrage, in hopes Onikuma’s body would be pierced and killed. The pieces of diamond spears did pierce him, but not deep enough. Irritated enough, he assaulted Inuyasha and bit his shoulder. He screamed in pain, with his blood colouring the water of the river. 

“Inuyasha!!”, cried Kagome, while firing her second arrow at Onikuma. 

This time, the power of her shot managed to make the youkai feel a great deal of pain. He let go of Inuyasha’s shoulder and tottered back, partially blinded by the sacred arrow. Kagome ran to Inuyasha’s rescue, and helped him getting up.

“Inuyasha, are you okay?!”

“Get back, Kagome. I’m not done with this bastard yet!”, he was, without a doubt, exaggeratedly angry. Still bleeding, he wielded Tetsusaiga once more. The sword turned black and glowed like a starry night. Onikuma’s eyes opened wide. He was too bestial to communicate verbally, like most youkai, but just knew his life would end in that very instant.

“MEIDOU... ZANGETSUHA!”, Inuyasha released his final attack, and succeeded in his battle. Onikuma had vanished to the Netherworld. 

No one came to see how they were doing or how the fight ended. Kagome was annoyed by that. She aided her boyfriend and entered the cave with him. Inuyasha was in pain. He lied on a plain rock and held her girlfriend’s hand.

“You know I’ll be nearly healed by tomorrow, don’t you?”

Kagome was conscious about it, but still would do anything to help. Only then she realised her backpack was gone.

“Shoot! Onikuma ate my backpack! I would put some bandages on you if I still had it… And other important stuff were lost with it, what a bummer! At least Rin’s letter is still here… I would never forgive myself if I lost it”

“Hah, I bet she wouldn’t forgive you too! What else was so important?”, Inuyasha asked.

“Spare clothing, mama’s food, condoms”.

Inuyasha started laughing, but then stopped because his wound ached.

“Were you expecting that we had sex in the woods this time? Oh boy, I have such a naughty girlfriend!”, Kagome tried to shut him up with a kiss, because he was too hurt to be ordered to sit. “Also, we don’t need that wicked rubber thing. I can be better than any artificial enhancement!”

“Looks like we have the perfect excuse to make a baby”, she let it out, surprising Inuyasha.

“Do you actually mean it?”, he held her hand tighter. 

Kagome lied down next to him and looked at his eyes with sincerity. 

“I do”, she kissed him again. They both closed their eyes and touched their foreheads. “It’s about time”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I admit... I got a little too excited writing the fighting scene... I was supposed to put more familiar faces in this chapter, but I will have to save them for later. I hope you have enjoyed this, anyway. It was so fun to write that! Onikuma story exists, I researched it and I thought it would be cool.


	8. Simultaneity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter talks about Rin's readaptation to the village and about Sesshomaru visiting his son.

Rin was doing mostly house chores since she arrived. Sango was very advanced in her pregnancy and could not work too hard. The demon slayer only took care of politics during that time. The recently arrived woman had the help of the twins, Ami and Emi, who remembered her and missed her dearly - it made her work fun and she didn’t get too tired from it. 

Certain morning, Rin and the girls were washing clothes by the river below their house. The two younger boys were swimming in a portion where water was still and shallow. They played for a little while, and Rin was also keeping an eye on them, mainly on Ikko, who was only three years old and could drown easily. He was finally getting used to her presence. The twins started getting upset for not swimming with their brothers.

“Go have fun, girls. I can finish up here”, Rin consented. The twins hugged her, nearly ripped off their clothing and jumped in the river with the rest. 

Rin could barely concentrate in her task, because the children laughing and playing with water was so funny and cute to see.

“Come swim with us, Rin!”, they called.

She wanted to go, but she remembered she didn’t bring her bikinis, and the river was not exactly private enough. “Oh, who cares!”, she said to herself, and then joined them. Miroku and Sango swam naked with their children too. The kids didn’t understand why grown ups had to take a bath alone, one by one, and not all together, like they did. It was better let them figure out by themselves, as they got older. Sango appeared a few minutes later, amused by the scene. Rin was swimming naked. After getting caught by strangers or even Inuyasha so many times, Kagome never swam again without a swim suit. That difference proved Rin was having a nice transition from modernity to the old habits of feudal era. She was really ready for anything, as long as she believed that Sesshomaru’s final resolution was staying with her. Sango didn’t want to give her too much hope, but hope was everything Rin had.

“Sango!”, Rin covered herself with her hands, even though she was inside the water. The super mother came closer.

“Rin, grab your stuff and get dressed. I have a surprise for you”, she requested. “You too, children. Come out of the water and get back home”, Sango also rushed them.

Rin went inside, eager to find out what the surprise was. Miroku jumped in front of her, showing the most beautiful kimono that Rin had ever seen in her life. It was not much longer than a robe, and it was made of a soft silky fabric, uncommon even in modern Japan. Its base colour was a pearled white - the sleeves and hem were black, and both colours were printed with twigs of light pink lotus flowers. Rin was afraid to ask if that amazing outfit was hers, but Miroku confirmed it in the most amazing way.

“Sesshomaru didn’t know you were gone the last time he returned. He brought this fabric and asked Kaede to make you a new robe. He didn’t come back and Kaede didn’t make the robe until she was very sick. Her last life effort was put into this. She knew you would come back someday”, Miroku’s words brought tears from Rin’s eyes, as he handed the kimono to her.

“I will save it for the day he comes to see me. I am sure he will like it”, Rin foretold, with her spirit taken over once again with positivity and blind faith. “I wonder what Lord Sesshomaru is doing right now…”

~~~~

“I can’t believe it’s been six years since your heir was born, Lord Sesshomaru!”, Jaken was cheerful about visiting the volcano goddess domains once again. 

He carried a box with the birthday present with difficulty, and almost could not see where he was going to. Unlike his servant, Sesshomaru sighed at the thought of seeing Hiniiro again. Visiting Seijin was indeed an obligation, and the dog youkai did that with pride, because he made a promise. Even so, if Sesshomaru could go back in time, he wouldn’t have mated with Hiniiro, it didn’t matter how he felt about his own son. Ah-Un took off and placed them safely in the castle gardens. The three visitors prefered not entering the castle, for they knew how dangerous and full of traps it was.

Seijin watched Ah-Un and Sesshomaru land by his bedroom window. Hiniiro was there too. She didn’t recognise her son’s behaviour neither from her or his father. The youkai boy turned to her with the biggest, broadest smile. His golden eyes sparkled with emotion.

“Father has arrived!”, shouted Seijin, to his mother annoyance.

“Go after him then, little brat”, Hiniiro was often harsh on him, but it was like he didn’t listen.

Seijin had already some unique abilities, such as advanced speed. He was not as fast as a lightning bolt, but he was surely more agile than many adult youkai with similar skills. He raced his way down the castle staircases, trying to find the easiest way to reach the garden. The boy broke plant jars, caused servants to trip while he ran - he made a mess while exploring his own powers and limits. Sesshomaru could feel Seijin approaching by the vibration on the ground. He didn’t recall that his son was capable of that the year before. He must have developed during the time that followed. Other visible changes were that he grew fangs, and that his haircut covered his whole forehead, hiding, therefore, the crescent moon marking he had inherited. 

“Step aside, Jaken”, warned Sesshomaru, as if a bomb was about to explode on their faces.

“FATHER!”, Seijin jumped and nearly flew towards him. Sesshomaru had no other choice but to catch him.

The daiyoukai tripped and luckily didn’t fall with the impact. Seijin landed against his chest, grabbing his father by the fabric of the kimono, hugging him tight. 

“Father, I missed you!”, his bursting happiness was not as irritating as it should be to Sesshomaru. 

It actually reminded him of Rin’s behaviour, when she first met him and started following him. Children… they were nothing but a big ball of joy. Sesshomaru ordered Seijin to release him, and he obeyed. The dog lord then kneeled to the child’s level and asked Jaken to bring in the birthday present.

“Here it is, my lord”, Jaken opened the box and offered it to his master. The gift were a pair of copper bracelets. 

They were made especially for children, and had various drawings carved in it. Not a work by Totosai, because he was befriended with Inuyasha - and Inuyasha must not acknowledge Seijin’s existence. There wasn’t any particular reason for Sesshomaru wanting to keep his son as a secret, he only wanted to prevent strangers from interfering in his life.

“Pull up the sleeves of your shirt”, he asked.

Seijin shyly exposed his arms, and his expression changed. He had a concerning amount of bruises. Sesshomaru noticed them the last time, in different spots of the little boy’s skin. He put on the war bracelets on his kid and observed. He also had the same markings as himself, on his arms. Still, his scars called his attention. Was Seijin safe?

“These will help you defend yourself against enemies, and can even deflect sword attacks!”, told Jaken, satisfied with how good they fit the boy.

“Thank you, father”, Seijin hugged him again. “They will be useful”.

“Useful against who?”, asked Sesshomaru, suspicious. Seijin became silent, and refused to answer, and that only confirmed his father’s theory. “Hm…”

“What’s the matter, Lord Sesshomaru? Where are you going now?”, Jaken didn’t know why his lord would suddenly change his mind and enter Hiniiro’s castle. 

“Stay here with Seijin. I need to see Hiniiro”, he ordered. Jaken held Seijin’s arm when he tried to follow. “Seijin, do not come after me”.

Sesshomaru looked for Hiniiro. He was angry. It was her that was harming his son. The mother herself! When asked why, the goddess only responded that she was bored, that her son was a burden for her. All he did was to destroy her castle decoration and keep her servants from doing their job properly. Seijin had no contact with other youkai children, so he had to find a way to pass his time. - and she could not see that through. The conversation ended in the most improbable way. Sesshomaru intimidated Hiniiro, and blatantly announced that Seijin’s guard was no longer hers. The boy would go with him, and he would be placed in safety, until he could find an adequate home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> links!
> 
> Rin's Kimono: (imagine something similar) https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ab/c5/1f/abc51fbaaf8ce9e63208ce8c567e0567.jpg
> 
> Seijin's bracelets: https://img0.etsystatic.com/047/0/6572514/il_340x270.727750468_hfr8.jpg


	9. Baby Kagome & Grandma Inukimi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome and Inuyasha save a baby wolf youkai that belongs to a very well known tribe. Sesshomaru takes his son Seijin to his mother and she has a lot to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 2 am, but I needed to post this. Big chapter. Enjoy.

Kagome eventually came back to the village attacked by Onikuma to get new supplies for her trip. Mei Mei was the only one who was glad to help. The rest of the villagers were upset for having a part of their houses crushed down and were too busy to aid her. With a new bag and packed to go, they waited until morning to get going again. Inuyasha smelled a secret passage through the cave where they stayed in - they would start from there. The cave was very special and unique, the flow of water, light, and air through its insides permitted a strange variety of plants and little animals to grow and live in there. The priestess collected some herbs she recognised it had healing powers, to help her boyfriend later.

“I smell campfires not very far away. There’s some sort of tribe living in here”, sensed Inuyasha. 

Kagome got distracted for a second, and thought she heard someone calling her name. She grabbed Inuyasha’s shoulder. Apparently, he didn’t hear it.

“There’s a demonic aura nearby”, she warned.

“Where?!”, Inuyasha pulled Tetsusaiga right away, and stayed alarmed.

“You can put your sword down. It’s a little, harmless youkai, I think”.

Curious, they kept on searching for the creature, just to make sure it was nothing to be worried about. That was when Inuyasha finally saw it. In the middle of a wall of the cave there was nest made of sticks, all tucked in this hole suspended high. Kagome almost didn’t believe it - there was a baby youkai sleeping inside. It was a tiny ball of brown fur, with red hair on the head.

“How did he get there?”, asked Kagome, worried.

“I don’t know, but I’d better take him out of there, before something bad happens”, Inuyasha removed his red robe and sword to reduce his weight when climbing the rocks.

“Be careful”, Kagome clenched her fists, nervously.

The hanyou approached the infant demon carefully. He didn’t have to say anything. He stretched his arm, and the baby soon after grabbed him with its little claws. It was, after all, a ginger head wolf youkai pup - by its size it must have been somewhere between ten months and a year old. Inuyasha pulled it close to his chest and climbed his way down and back to Kagome. She rushed to see if the little one was alright. 

“I’ve never come across a pup that sleepwalks”, commented Inuyasha. “And it is a she, by the looks of her haircut”.

“A wolf youkai baby! I’ve never seen something so cute, so precious…”, Kagome gently took her in her arms and involved her around Inuyasha’s robe, to keep her warm and protected. 

Inuyasha blushed, when listening to Kagome’s voice tone. He imagined, for a brief moment, what it would be like when they had their own pup. She would probably say the same thing. He wasn’t a fan of wolves for obvious reasons, but that was only a baby, it was impossible for him to feel any hatred towards it.  
Kagome listened to someone calling her name once again, and this time also did Inuyasha. They didn’t know what was going on, but the voices came from the direction of said campfires by the hanyou. Inuyasha was walking in front, attentive for any obstacles in the way, and was followed by Kagome, that carried the infant with her. After about half an hour of cave exploring, the couple encountered two old friends: Ginta and Hakkaku. The two of them jumped closer to greet them.

“Inuyasha! What a surprise to see you here!”, said Ginta, shaking hands with him.

Meanwhile, Hakkaku was already greeting Kagome, and then noticed the pup she carried in her arms. He got excited with relief, and started crying.

“Miss Kagome! You found her!”, The two Kouga’s comrades fell on the priestess feet, thanking her. Inuyasha was annoyed, because he was the one who really had rescued the wolf pup. He also found curious that the wolf demon tribe was adventuring western lands.

“How come are the wolves residing in West now? Your home was in the East, if I remember well!”

“Inuyasha…”, Kagome didn’t want him to start fighting for nothing.

“It’s okay, miss Kagome”, Ginta tranquilised her. “Our tribe were being untiringly chased by a group of demon slayers just for sport! We were forced to move!”.

They thought better leave details to be explained by the their chief leader, Kouga himself. Kagome and Inuyasha had a warm reception at the wolf youkai tribe, founded in the base of the other side of the cave they’ve been exploring for the whole day. Kouga was accompanied by his wife Ayame, and their two older children: Kurumi, the eldest daughter, and Kaoru, the middle son. They were both brunettes, like their father. Ayame she was furious towards Ginta and Hakkaku. She slapped them dozens of times, yelling:

“I will never trust you to take care of my children, again! You bastards!”

They ran and took cover on the husband. Kouga put a hand on Ayame’s shoulder.

“Our baby is fine, Ayame, look”, he pointed at Kagome and Inuyasha as they came closer.

Kagome gave the baby back to her mother, and made the strangest discovery. 

“Kagome! My sweet, little princess!”, Ayame took her child and held her up, making her giggle. 

Yes, the name of the pup was Kagome. Just like the priestess Kagome. Just like Kagome Higurashi. Inuyasha’s Kagome. The hanyou’s first reaction was to facepalm, and confront Kouga. 

“You called your youngest daughter Kagome... Because of my Kagome?!”

“Did you, Kouga?”, Ayame joined the hanyou, even more furious than before. “You got advantage of the fact that I forgot who your ex-girlfriend was, only so you could use her name on our child!”

Inuyasha then turned to Ayame and shouted at her.

“Kagome was never his girlfriend!”

“He is right!”, agreed Kouga, terrified about his wife. At the same time he snarled at Inuyasha, for shouting at Ayame. “Don’t you ever talk to my wife like that, mutt!”

Inuyasha grabbed Kouga and leaned towards him. Before anything tragic happened, Kagome had no other choice but to finish that stupid discussion. 

“SIT!!”, she yelled. Boom! Inuyasha was knocked down, and dragged Kouga with him, landing on the wolf himself.

“Tell him to sit, again, would you dear? And hit Kouga with it, he deserves it”, asked Ayame. Kagome gladly granted her wish, and they hi-fived afterwards. Kouga and Inuyasha nearly passed out from the impact. “Thank you, hun!”

When all spirits calmed down and all youkai, hanyou, and humans started acting civilised again. The wolf tribe lightened a huge bonfire and prepared a feast to be celebrated at night. The guests were dying of curiosity to know how it was possible that Kouga and his clan were allowed to live in the West, Sesshomaru’s domains. Last time they heard, Sesshomaru wanted to kill him and his comrades because his wolf pack slaughtered the little girl that would become his companion, over ten years prior. Kouga confirmed Ginta’s story - a new demon slayer village had been hunting them just for the emotion, so they had to move. During their travels to the opposite side of the territory, they have encountered Sesshomaru.

“Yes, by that time my daughter Kurumi was only three years old, and I was pregnant with my second, Kaoru!”, told Ayame. 

“And Sesshomaru said we could find a home in this new place, as long as we didn’t kill humans or gave him any kind of trouble. What strange of him!”, completed Kouga. “It almost felt as if he had forgiven me”.

~~~~~~

Meanwhile, strong wind blew in those fields, with long vivid green grass dancing along with it. The last time Sesshomaru had been there was ten years before. He had the company of Kohaku and Rin, and it was surely one of the worst days he has memory of. His own mother, Inukimi, caused the death of Rin, only to teach him a lesson that his late father wanted him to acknowledge. Even though Rin was revived again, Sesshomaru never bothered to visit her after that. It was strange to think that he had more feelings than her, after all he had been through and all the fame he had gained for being who he was. Either way, he couldn’t blame Inukimi for everything. His late father did give her a reason to become so cold and heartless. He betrayed her. With a human. Had a son with someone else.

Seijin spent most of the travel running around every inch of territory they’ve been through. He had never left home before, so all of that he didn’t know was a must to look into. Sesshomaru wasn’t a perfect father. He often would let the boy wander off and get lost, being excessively curious and hurt himself or get into little trouble. If he managed to get back together in safety, only Jaken gave him the sermon - and when he failed to sort himself out of the confusions he caused by his own his father would come and pick him up again and said to him:

“Never do that again. You can get killed. I won’t save you the next time” - but he always did.

Sesshomaru entered not invited the property where was once his home. He didn’t let Seijin come too near him in first place. Who knows if Inukimi’s reaction to children will include hounds of hell taking his son to the Netherworld. Ah-Un and his son stayed far back, while Sesshomaru and Jaken did the talking.

“Humm… I didn’t expect you to come back, Sesshomaru”, she soon said, getting on her feet to greet him. “But I occasionally spy on you…”, she admitted, by holding her Meidou stone.

Sesshomaru grabbed the hilt of his Bakusaiga, and took a defense position. Inukimi was rather satisfied to notice that the left arm of her son grew back, and that he had possession of a new, much stronger sword.

“Milady, Lord Sesshomaru has come to you for your assistance. We are desperate for help!”, announced Jaken, taking a step forward and bending.

“Is Sesshomaru desperate? Quite surprising”, her eyes lied on the kid mounted on Ah-Un’s back, meters behind Sesshomaru. “And don’t worry, I won’t throw your new young companion into hell, like the last time”.

“Hm”, Sesshomaru let his guard down and looked back at Seijin, that understood that as a cue to come closer.

The youkai boy jumped off the animal and stayed by his father’s side, feeling intimidated by Inukimi. 

“Tell me, little demon”, she looked at Jaken. “Who is the boy that accompanies Sesshomaru this time? Since he doesn’t say anything, as always”.

Jaken sighed. It was no use correcting her with his real name.

“That, milady, is Seijin. He is Lord Sesshomaru’s first heir. Fruit of an accident between milord and Lady Hiniiro, the volcano goddess”. 

Sesshomaru looked displeased with Jaken’s summary, but there wasn’t any good way to tell that, was there? He looked down at his son’s eyes. Inukimi seemed surprised. She was being presented to her grandson. Never in a million years she would have guessed that Sesshomaru would have such intimacy with another youkai - or entity, which was the case. And he produced an heir. A beautiful pure blooded and dark red haired boy. 

“Come, Seijin. Let me see you closer”, she asked.

Sesshomaru patted his son back, encouraging him to go. He was trembling, in front of her, but as soon as she spoke to him and touched his little hand, he felt the same of when with his father. Her voice was peachy like his, and her hands were soft. Inukimi examined his arms and cheeks, and recognised the marks. Secondly, she gently held his fringe up and found joy with the crescent on the forehead. Seijin pointed at her face and smiled big.

“You have one too! Just like daddy and me!”

“Why do you hide it with your hair, little one?”, she innocently asked.

“Oh… My mommy said she hated it because of father. She used to hit me too”, his answer terrified Inukimi, that looked back at Sesshomaru.

“He needs to stay here for a while”, Sesshomaru finally said. His mother nodded positively, but had to say what was in her mind.

“You know what else he needs? A new mother - and I ain’t gonna be her. I’ve taken care of you for 150 years. Go find yourself a wife”, she blurted and didn’t see Sesshomaru express bashfulness because she was too busy fixing her grandchild’s hair. She pulled everything and tied it up in a bun. “That’s it. Now you look a like a beautiful descendant of the Inu no Taisho!”

The comment made Sesshomaru go “Hmph” and say something impossible to be understood. Seijin was too distracted to see Jaken and his father leaving the property. Inukimi only hoped her son got the message. Seijin was not going to live in there, he was merely a guest, and was expected to leave soon enough.

“Grandma, who is Inu no Taisho?”, he asked, in a sweet way, now getting accustomed to this female dog youkai.

“Inu no Taisho is your grandfather”, Inukimi didn’t want to confess, but she was very admired by the fact that Seijin existed.

“When can I meet him?”, his golden eyes got brighter, but only for a brief moment. 

“Doesn’t your father tell you anything? He is dead”, she already could see all those questions coming. But he had to know the family story, sooner or later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The effing letter will be given to Sesshy in the next chapter, I swear!


	10. Sesshomaru is found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inuyasha and Kagome finally reach Sesshomaru. Sango has a plan b for Rin. Sesshomaru reflects about his father's choices.

Kouga led Inuyasha and Kagome to the last spot where he and his clan had seen Sesshomaru for the last time. It had been less than a week. Inuyasha looked up and breathed deep with his nose. Knowing his brother’s scent better than anyone, he took his time. Kagome waited patiently, with Kouga. 

“I found him”, the hanyou announced.

Kagome said her goodbyes to Kouga, and once again congratulated him for having such beautiful children with Ayame. He swore make justice to the name of the youngest, so she grew up and became like the woman her name was taken from. His adoration for the priestess was the same, even after swearing loyalty to his wife. Inuyasha controlled himself better that time and apologised for being rude the other day. Kagome liked this Inuyasha, the one that tries to see through his ego. All he needed was a bit of sexual intimacy to relax. It made him a brand new person the morning that followed.

Once the couple found Ah-Un’s trail, it was easier to follow to a certain direction. Sesshomaru’s smell was getting stronger within every hour of walking. Sesshomaru wasn't stupid. He knew he was being followed and by whom. They must had been looking for him for a long time, for being so persistent. Jaken erupted from the silence, for he had perceived their presence as well.

“Lord Sesshomaru! Someone’s approaching us fast and it looks like it that bastard of your brother!”

Sesshomaru was hitting his vassal in the head when Inuyasha arrived, and he listened to what the frog youkai said.

“Did you hit him for calling me a bastard or for addressing me as your brother?”

“Rrr”, Sesshomaru gazed at him angrily.

“Okay, I got it!”, the hanyou stepped back and hid behind Kagome. Sesshomaru wasn’t afraid of her and she wasn’t afraid of him either.

“What do you want?”

“We would like to give you this”, she said, calmly picking up the envelope from inside of her kimono. She took so good care of it that the paper was still completely plain. Sesshomaru didn’t show interest. “It’s a letter from Rin”.

The priestess took a few steps towards him, fearless. 

“You’re lucky I didn’t kill you yet”.

Kagome knew he wouldn’t lay a hand on her. After traveling so much to find him, and talking to people and youkai about him, it was obvious he had changed - for the better. Inuyasha trusted Kagome, but was ready if anything went wrong.

“Will you take this, please?”, she insisted. “You have to know what she says”.

Why would Sesshomaru want to know what Rin is saying? She left. All the years he invested on her were a waste of time. The idea of preparing Rin to be his wife when she was fully grown having crossed his mind only made him feel stupid. He was becoming like his father, but he hated his father for the same reason, for choosing a human girl - therefore Sesshomaru hated himself.

“Sesshomaru…”, Kagome shook the envelope in front of him one last time. 

“No”, the daiyoukai slapped her arm away from his face and turned his back on them. “Jaken, get Ah-Un. We’re leaving”.

Inuyasha got furious at his brother for disrespecting Kagome like that, but overall, he was pissed because they had all the trouble of finding him. He had no idea how much they’ve been through, only to grant Rin’s wish. The hanyou ran, jumped past Kagome and tried to attack Sesshomaru. His brother already knew that was going to happen, so he used used his poisoned whip to grab Inuyasha’s ankles and threw him far enough. 

Kagome wasn’t physically hurt, but her heart was. Sesshomaru was still as cruel like before. The woman fell on her knees, disappointed. Tears rolled down her face. Jaken didn’t go straight to his lord, though. He was still there, and came near Kagome, to her surprise.

“Stupid Lord Sesshomaru! I’m sure he didn’t mean what he did!”, the frog youkai stretched his little hand. “Give me the letter, girl”.

He took the letter from her and put it in safe place within his clothing. Kagome didn’t even have time to thank him. Jaken ran desperately back to his Lord. Inuyasha found his girlfriend again after some time. He had a burn around his ankle. The hanyou kneeled behind Kagome and hugged her tight.

“I am sorry for putting you through this”, he comforted her, and kissed her.

“Jaken took the letter. I don’t know what he will do with it”.

“Well. Our job is done. I wouldn’t put much faith in him…”, Inuyasha helped Kagome getting up. “C’mon, let’s go back home”.

~~~~~

Rin spent most of the day looking out the window. Waiting. She hoped to see Kagome and Inuyasha soon, and it would be wonderful if Lord Sesshomaru came along with them. While Miroku fed her beliefs, Sango tried to keep Rin’s feet on the ground. Her husband didn’t exactly agree with the plan b, but it was something that could work.

Kohaku got to spend some with Sesshomaru during their battle against Naraku. He met Rin, and helped taking care of her by then. Maybe, just maybe, if they met again… They could get along, and if Rin suffered any deception from Sesshomaru, she would have someone else if she wanted. 

Kohaku was also fond of letters, and recently sent one to his older sister. In his message, Kohaku said he was experienced enough and feeling better about his resentment over all the atrocities he had committed in the past. He was, finally, in peace with himself. Sango was happy for her little brother to come back after so much time… He hadn’t met any of his nieces and nephews. There was so much going on, and Sango only prayed that everything turned better for everyone.

~~~~~~

Sesshomaru and his vassals didn’t stop for the night - they have come across a demonic moorland with lots of danger in it. Demons were disguised as plants, bushes, moss creatures, and others. The little youkai that met them soon recognised Sesshomaru as their lord. Though they had never seen him personally before, his resemblance with Inu no Taisho was unquestionable. The small moss youkai bowed to him as he passed. As the night became darker, and the weather became colder, a fog curtain descended on the moorland. Jaken humped on Ah-Un’s back and grabbed one of their necks. If he didn’t do that, he would surely get lost - he simply could not see his Lord Sesshomaru anymore, but Ah-Un did, and he trusted in him to keep going and escape the threats of the demonic moorland.

The dog lord had to battle a few stubborn ones that did not accept him as their ruler and kept him from moving. Sesshomaru spread fear amongst those who opposed to him. Having defeated what was disturbing the environment, the fog got lower and disappeared after some minutes. Jaken and Ah-Un had been by his side all along and didn’t notice. Sesshomaru sat by a tree to catch some sleep. Jaken collected some wood to light a small bonfire. He revealed the letter from under his sleeve and held it with both hands. He wanted to read it so much. He wondered what Rin had to say him, because he was just as present in her life as Lord Sesshomaru. The daiyoukai knew his servant was up to something, because he was quiet for too long. By opening only a corner on his right eye, he could see the letter in those tiny hands.

“Jaken, why did you pick up the letter?”

The vassal instantly began to sweat, nervous, because he thought Sesshomaru would beat him for not being allowed to get the envelope from Kagome. 

“I-i-i did it because you wouldn’t s-s-sire…”, Jaken breathed relieved. Sesshomaru nothing did to him. Perhaps he was too tired to punish him. Even though, as soon as he started reading it, he got disquieted again. Those love confessions didn’t matter to him, because he was trying to find something that was written about himself. “Stupid little brat, that Rin! She only talks about Lord Sesshomaru and doesn’t even remember me!”

“Shut up, Jaken”, warned Sesshomaru, but Jaken didn’t seem to listen.

“I’ve never seen Rin sounding so insolent towards you, Lord Sesshomaru! Listen to this: ‘... I was only in my early teens at the time, but I was aware of what my heart was trying to tell me, and that scared me to death…’”

“I don’t want to hear it”, he warned for the second time, looking the other way. But Jaken disrespectfully continued.

“...Would the emptiness disappear? Would you correspond to the feelings I have for you? The truth is, mylord, that I really love you…”

BAM! By throwing a rock at his head, Sesshomaru sent Jaken to sleep, literally. He would get up probably only by morning. With that, the letter had flown up, and was about to hit the fire and be lost forever. Sesshomaru saved it on the last second. He heard the last sentence. Rin was confessing to him. Now that Jaken wasn’t looking, he could read it - in peace. He was glad that Rin lived in a place that was worthy of her, or that was his impression about the school. She was doing better there than inside that poor village. Sesshomaru was also intrigued with the importance that future gave to music making. In feudal era, music was a job for bums. It worried him that Rin still couldn’t fight to defend herself, it would be no good if she came back lacking that skill - but she loved him. She had written it in the clearest way possible, using all its words. Sesshomaru swallowed dry, as he read the details of Rin’s confession. Curse it! Memories of his father came again. 

“Sesshomaru, have you someone to protect?”

Sesshomaru pressed the paper against his face and breathed through his nose. It had her scent. The dulcet smell of her skin and her hair. Again he pictured in his head, his father’s corpse, Seijin, and then Rin.

“I Sesshomaru, can’t protect all of you and not protect myself. What is the point of your love if I’m dead? I shall not repeat my father’s mistakes. He was a fool, and he paid for it”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are you liking the fanfic so far?
> 
> I'm not really sure where to go in this fanfic at the moment! Hah, but I will find a way,


	11. Kohaku and Shippou, the perfect duo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brief story of Kohaku and Shippou in the years that followed and their comeback to the village. Kohaku talks to Rin. Inuyasha and Kagome arrive.

The concept of being a demon slayer changed a little since the struggle with Naraku. The stories about Inuyasha, the hanyou who defeated him alongside with his youkai brother and fellow humans were told many times inside most of the villages. People were learning that not all of them were evil, and Kohaku started his journey at this point of time. He had the title of demon slayer, but he was more like a negotiator than a slayer. Killing would have to be his last resource, after nothing else worked.

Ten years made good to Kohaku. He became a handsome and strong twenty four year old man, but too shy to be charming. The one that really helped him with social skills to talk to girls was Shippou, his youkai companion. The two of them met by chance and hung out together since then. 

Shippou grew a lot in that time as well. He was as high as average people’s waists. Ok, he knew it wasn’t that much, but he finally could see himself going somewhere. His full fledged demon dream was on the way. His powers advanced incredibly. The Foxfire could really burn and injure enemies. He developed his Heart Scar technique and magic tricks. And he was the perfect womanizer. Not as naughty and disrespectful, but a true heartbreaker for his age. Every time they left a village dozens of girls had to be there, waving goodbye to him. Kohaku and Shippou were really the sweetest and smartest traveling team around, solving people’s and youkai’s problems.

Shippou transformed into a consistent pink balloon for fast travel. He could stay in that form for much longer then, because he learned how to control it. Kohaku carefully humped and sat on the top of his surface.  
“Where to now, Kohaku?”, the morphed fox youkai asked.

“I never thought I would say that, but we are going home!”, he pointed forward, and there they went.

~~~~~~~  
A few days later.

Rin was at the centre of the village, to buy fruits and vegetables for dinner. The villagers were finally getting accustomed and friendly to her, as the older inhabitants remembered who she was and how she started living in there. With that, the gossip about Sesshomaru tutoring her and visiting her came back. When she was young she didn’t give a damn about what people thought. It suddenly started to change, because their interest in her life was rather intrusive and exaggerated. “Is my purpose in this place so obvious to them?”, she asked herself. 

Then she saw a tall young man asking for information. He was accompanied by a short fox youkai. Rin approached to look better, because they were so familiar. Both of them had ponytails on their head. The human man had brownish freckles on his face, and the youkai had those awkward canine feet, a fluffy tail, and red hair. It was them, Rin had no doubt about it. 

“We were wondering, mister, do you know where lady Kaede lives now? Or lady Sango? Things have changed so much in here, I think I am lost”, Kohaku asked, embarrassed. 

Shippou sniffed the air and recognised somebody’s scent. He turned his face and saw Rin there. She was smiling to him. Shippou pushed Kohaku’s clothing lightly to call his attention and pointed at Rin, silently. The demon slayer’s eyes met hers in the most magical way. Kohaku had never seen such a beautiful girl before. He didn’t know it was Rin, he only thought that Shippou was forcing him to flirt with women again, and that time he was in no position of refusing. He rapidly reached her, and started holding and pressing his own hand to the other, anxious about talking to her.

“Good afternoon, young miss. Are you familiar with lady Kaede? Does she still live here?”

Rin giggle and winked at Shippou. They were crazy about knowing when Kohaku would notice.

“Kaede passed away already”.

“And what about lady Sango, and her husband, the monk Miroku? Are they familiar to you?”

“Miroku and Sango? Off course! I live as a guest in their house, and I can take you there”, not even that sentence sounded suspicious to Kohaku who was nearly drooling over her beauty.

The duo followed Rin to the other side of the amplified village, and got to the enormous house that belonged to the chief, her husband, and children. Miroku was outside, playing with his four kids. He got up and smiled broadly at them. 

“Kohaku! Shippou!”, he hugged them tight as soon as they got near. 

The twins recognised the fox demon and jumped on him, laughing and screaming:

“SLAAAAAAY!!”

“No! Not again…”, there was nothing he could do to stop them, they were already all over him, almost not letting him breathe. Tayouchu, even though he had little memory from Shippou, joined the fun.

Kohaku could just not believe it. All those… Four kids… He thought they stopped after the third. He dropped his huge kusarigama on the grass beneath him, before Miroku gave him a bear hug.

“Welcome back, my friend”, the monk picked up the youngest, Ikko, to present him to Kohaku.

“Is he… Also… My nephew?”, Kohaku could barely speak, from emotion. 

“Yes, Kohaku, he is”, Miroku gave Ikko to him to hold, and he could see him shedding a tear. He went inside home quick to call his wife, she would be the happiest of all there. “Kids, let Shippou alone and go give a hug on your uncle”.

Shippou gave a good stretch as soon as he was free. Those girls got taller and heavier since the last time. He jumped towards Rin, who was all alone, observing the commotion. She kneeled and hugged him as well. Kohaku was still too stunned about seeing his family again to remember Rin. Sango came out of the door in a rush. When everybody thought her big belly prohibited her from running, he did that effort just to meet her younger brother. Seven years had passed and he was away from home, going through his own path in that world. Kohaku couldn’t hide that he was crying anymore. The siblings both kneeled down, surrounded by the children, tied to each other, and shared the longest hug possible. He touched his sister’s round stomach with both hands.

“I thought your house was already crowded with three of them, and you come up with two more, just like that!”

“Kohaku… I’m so glad you’re safe… You look so well!”, she repeated his name many times, until she understood he was really there, by her side, after so much time. 

“Sister…”, he replied, comforting her.  
~~~~~  
The dinner was perfect. There was never a time that everybody spoke so much about their new adventures. Kohaku and Shippou were basically continuing the job that once Miroku, Sango, Kagome and Inuyasha used to do at those dark times when Naraku was alive. Kohaku still got tense just by hearing his name. He was free of him. He was saved. Kikyou gave him his new life. When asked about where was Kirara, Kohaku had a hard time bringing the news. In on of his adventures, the feline youkai and him encountered a group of demons from her species. They were free and had their own families. Kirara was serving Sango and Kohaku’s family for so long, she didn’t have any of her own. Kohaku knew she wanted to go, but she would never leave him so easily - so he gave her freedom to choose, and promised not to be angry at her, it didn’t matter her decision. Kirara wanted to go. Her decades of years as a vassal of the demon slayer family were very much appreciated, and her friends would always remember her.  
Finally, after having his meal, he asked about this girl who was living with them, but she was not there eating with them anymore. Rin was feeling too much ignored, and thought it was better to leave the happy family have their moment. She was down at the river, sitting in a rock, with her feet touching the water, looking up to the moon, thinking about him. Wondering if she ever was going to have what Miroku and Sango had. What would be Sesshomaru like as a husband? As a father? Would he care at all? Just when Rin thought her imagination couldn’t get wilder, she heard footsteps behind her. Kohaku, came and sat by her side, in the same rock. Both him and Rin blushed about each other. It was awkward to think that them, complete as man and woman had shared those dangerous travels during their childhood, along with Sesshomaru. It felt weird, being so close together, like that.

“I am so sorry I didn’t recognise you, Rin. I feel awful…” 

“It’s okay”, she said. “It’s not your fault I changed so much”. 

“My sister told me you were gone too, for a while”, he tried to find a topic to talk about, in which he sucked, but Rin went along with it.

“Yes. Both of us know that being away to think is what makes us grow. I had to do that only so I found out that I really belong here”, she took a breath and then sighed.

“Sango also told me you are pretty much alone”, his words also made Rin realise what Sango was really thinking about. Kohaku didn’t care if that was some sort of plan or not. He saw Rin earlier and felt enchanted by her - and she knows him, had gone through a lot with him, and understood him. “I didn’t want to stay for too long, but if you want, I can make you company whenever you feel sad”.

“Humm… Okay, but I won’t be sad and lonely for too long. Someone’s coming to visit me soon”, she didn’t want to say his name, but it was too obvious. 

“Rin, are you sure he is coming back? For you?”, questioned Kohaku, but Rin didn’t even listen. Inuyasha and Kagome had just came back from their trip and Rin heard them and suddenly ran up back to the house. 

Kohaku nodded to himself, feeling embarrassed once again, and headed back home as well, way slower than Rin though, Inuyasha and Kagome weren’t going anywhere again so soon, he presumed. Again, the children made a little party to receive Inuyasha, and played slaying with him for a bit, but as soon as he saw Shippou nearby, he sent the kids to go torture him instead.

“I missed you too, Inuyasha”, the fox youkai said, dizzy already from the playing.

Rin bursted inside and sat near Kagome. She just wanted news from her. How was her trip, did they find him, how long did it take, how was it. All of those things. It was a delicate situation, since Rin put all her faith in them to complete her task, and she was so dreamy about it, so sure… It was nerve racking to think that someone’s happiness depended completely on a letter, a piece of paper. Inuyasha wanted her to wake up to reality, while Kagome just wished to appease her anxious heart. 

“It took us long”, Kagome started. “But we did find Sesshomaru”.

“Are you not gonna tell them about the bear youkai I killed? Am I that worthless to you?”, already interfered the hanyou.

“Oh, yes, honey, you did a great job”, she smooched him on the cheek, and then continued. Inuyasha felt a little better.

“Did he say anything?”, Rin asked. Her chest was burning. Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other with pity.

“Well, I remember him saying ‘No’, and walking away”, Inuyasha scratched his head, trying not to look at Rin. 

“But Jaken took the envelope and went off after Sesshomaru”, completed Kagome.

Rin seemed to have taken it well. Kohaku was already listening to the conversation by then. She was not smiling big anymore, but she put both of her hands on her chest and prayed. 

“Master Jaken is quite curious, loud, and lousy. I am quite sure he will tempt Lord Sesshomaru to read it. Or he might just be punched and threatened”.

Kohaku opened his eyes wide. “Rin’s obstinacy is incredible. She won’t stop believing. I just hope Sesshomaru doesn’t break her heart. If he does, I will do what Sango suggested, I will be there for her. I am also tired of being alone”.  
~~~~~  
Jaken thought Sesshomaru had burnt the letter, but he did not. He didn’t tell him where they were going that time. When he finally retrieved the paper, he scanned for his name again, and there it was. The very last line. “Please tell Jaken I miss him too”. He stopped walking, and his chin dropped. He was happy.

“Lord Sesshomaru! Rin misses me too! That means she remembers me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pretty much thought this chapter was not as good as the others, but very important.


	12. The fifth child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inuyasha and Kagome are trying to conceive. Kohaku tries to reason with Rin. Sango is in labour. Sesshomaru is heading somewhere, but where?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeey. So.... Our story continues.

Two more weeks had passed. Kohaku stayed. He often went out with Rin, flattered her, made her laugh, and all those things. He was growing fond of her each day that passed, and Rin, even though with some resistance, learned that Kohaku was a kind young man, and worthy to be around with. She was, after all, starting to lose faith in her original life project, that was to be with Sesshomaru. You can’t force anyone to be in love with you, unless they feel the same. If Sesshomaru had any feelings for her, he would have come. Rin was in the process of accepting that the life he imagined was not the one that was meant to be hers. The more Sango put her finger on her life, the more confused she became, and influenced by it at the same time. Should she give up both professional career and Sesshomaru and risk her chances on Kohaku? He was an incredible fighter, caring, and lovable - but she didn’t feel anything strong for him. She didn’t want to be with him as much as he did.

The sun had risen once again. The house was so full, and so happy. Miroku was putting his kids around the table, for their morning soup. Kagome and Inuyasha woke up and got out of their room soon after they heard the noises of all those little feet running around. Rin was up early, Shippou and Kohaku helped her serving everyone. Higurashi and her hanyou partner were acting exclusively cute to each other that day, sitting very close, exchanging kisses here and there. Miroku was very familiar to that behaviour, and decided picking on them, just for the fun.

“My, my, it looks like somebody did some naughty things last night”

Rin and Kohaku looked at each other and blushed instantly. Inuyasha tried to hide his face with his hand, while Kagome bought the fight.

“Miroku! This is not something you say near your kids!”

“Nah… They know… Once both twins and Tayouchu caught me and Sango in the middle of the act”, he said that as if it was nothing. 

“Excuse me, I will go talk to Shippou outside”, Kohaku dragged his youkai fox friend outside, for obvious reasons. He didn’t need to know those details about his sister. Rin followed them and let the old group of friends finish their weird topic by themselves. She had nothing to do with that either.

The kids of course, weren’t any dumb, and listened to the whole thing, laughing and whispering to each other. Emi, one of the twins, pulled the sleeve of Inuyasha’s fire rat robe and asked him:

“Uncle Inuyasha, are you and aunt Kagome trying to make a baby?”, the question was followed by the giggles of them. Kagome was red like a pepper already, and Inuyasha only made her feel worse.

“To be honest with you, yes, we are, and I think we are almost getting ther-”

“Sit!”, rushed Kagome. All dishes shook with the impact of Inuyasha on the floor.  


“Oh”, Miroku was caught by surprise. “Well, I hope to see some results soon. These kids had never had a hanyou cousin before”.

“Miroku, don’t make me hit you too”, warned Kagome, pissed off with the tone of the conversation.

Then, suddenly, Sango left her bedroom. She was woken up by Kagome’s raging screams. The children greeted her warmheartedly, as always, as she told them:

“Today, you’re all going to spend the whole daytime with your uncle Inuyasha, uncle Kohaku and your cousin Shippou”.

“Do you feel unwell, Sango?”, noticed Miroku.

“I couldn’t sleep because I was in pain. The baby will be coming soon!”, the leader and demon slayer could hardly speak, as she suffered from a contraction. “Get Rin back inside, she has experience with this, and studied nursery in school”.  
~~~~~~~~  
By the time Shippou, Kohaku, and Rin spent out of the house, the fox demon decided to practice on his moves in the field nearby, while the other two had a serious conversation. Kohaku was telling Rin about his difficulty to be friends with women, and that he never had fallen for any. With she, it was different. They already had a past, and didn’t have to go through any embarrassment confessing deadly experiences and mistakes to any possible candidate. It was easier getting to know someone you already met before. She was wearing the kimono that Kaede made her before dying. Rin told him that story, and that the fabric was brought by Sesshomaru. She wore it almost every other day, in hopes he would come and see that she appreciated his gift. 

“So, Rin, having all that was said, I must ask you. What do you intend to do now, that Sesshomaru is not coming back?”, the demon slayer asked.

“Kohaku… I… I don’t know. Should I consider this possibility as the truth so soon?”, Rin was terrified to admit that he might actually have been right.

“It is not so soon. It’s been weeks. You can’t wait your whole life for him, you ain’t got two hundred years for that”, Kohaku was heartfelt. He thought that he had won Rin by then, but he didn’t. 

“I am sorry you weren’t here when I made my decision, Kohaku. My only true love will always be Sesshomaru. I do not feel anything as much strong for anyone else. If it’s not gonna be him, it ain’t gonna be. I intend to go travel back to Kagome’s world, through the bone eater’s well, and live out of my work”, she told him, confident. 

“I understand”, Kohaku felt defeated, but as he cared for Rin, he would support her. “Anyway, if you need me, know that I will always be your friend”. 

They gave each other a hug and cried. There are some things that they couldn’t change, and understanding and respect was everything they could share in such difficult moment. Kagome appeared and ran for their meet, breathing fast. The two young aided her, and asked what was going on.

“It’s Sango, she’s in labour”, Kagome said. “She wants you to help her, Rin”.  


“Right!”, she promptly said, and ran back inside. 

Inuyasha escorted Ami, Emi, Tayouchu, and Ikko outside. Kohaku didn’t have many ideas of how to make the little ones busy enough, but Inuyasha knew them better, and with Shippou to make a mess with, they were sure they were going to have lots plans of how to entertain them, until their newest brother or sister was born.  
~~~~~~~~~  
Sesshomaru was on the move, but neither Jaken or Ah-Un knew where to. The frog youkai was so tired from the travel he would only moan and complain, after so many days. The great dog lord never thought he would cross those trails again, with so many human villages, curious travelers, and meddling demon exorcists and demons themselves. He finally stopped for a minute. Jaken crashed against his leg and fell backwards. His feet had lost their strength, from walking such long distance. The wind blew, moving the grass, the trees, and Sesshomaru’s long silver hair. He could smell an amount of known figures at once, but not Rin all alone. Ah-Un took his chance to eat leaves from bush and rest. Jaken opened his eyes and felt the heat of the sun, punishing his frail skin already.

“Lord Sesshomaru, why haven’t you told where are we heading to yet?”

“Don’t you ever pay attention, Jaken?”, he responded.

“Forgive me for the lack of direction skills, milord… I just can’t go on any longer, sire”, cried the vassal.

“So, you choose to stay and not see her”

Jaken thought he was dreaming. Was Sesshomaru referring to Rin? Had he decided to see her? That could only mean one thing.

“Oh, Lord Sesshomaru! You read Rin’s letter, didn’t you?!”, Jaken got up and jumped on his master’s feet. “That means you correspond to her feelings for you!”

“No”, he rapidly contested, and stepped on Jaken’s head. “I do not have such thing”.

“But whyyyy!” Jaken cried to him again, while his skull was nearly crushed. 

Somehow, he knew once again Sesshomaru didn’t mean it. When Kagome tried to give him the letter, he refused and became aggressive to her, but he read it in the end. And there he was, confronted about Rin again, and when Jaken tried to get something from him, he was mistreated. Sesshomaru didn’t fool him, and learned how to interpret his lord’s ways - the closer you got to him, the colder and angrier he would become. 

“We’ll fly now, Jaken”, Sesshomaru announced, giving him one last chance to join.

“Wait for me, my lord!”, Jaken ran as fast as he could and grabbed onto Sesshomaru’s fur, before he and Ah-Un left without him.

Sesshomaru closed his eyes and tried to catch her scent again. He hoped Rin hadn’t given up on waiting for him just yet. He had to see it himself. Find the answers to her questions. Did he still see her as a child? Had he thought of her as something more? Was he sure of what he wanted? To be with a woman, that will age and die? No Tenseiga or Meidou Stone could save her from the cruelest of the villains, that was the time.  
~~~~~~~  
Miroku was kneeled on the floor, holding Sango in his arms. She was leaning over him, crying out in pain, while both Rin and Kagome massaged her lower back and put hot compresses against her skin. It was supposed to help reduce the pressure of the contractions, but they weren’t working anymore. That meant they were very close to meet the baby. 

“I swear to the gods, this will be last one!”, yelled Sango, squeezing the hell of Miroku’s right hand. 

“That’s what you said the last time, heheh… AUCH!”, he ached. “You will end up creating another wind tunnel in my hand this way!”

Kagome seemed nervous, watching how everything was happening. She had never been present at any of Sango’s children’s births. The bone eater’s well was still closed when Ami and Emi were born, and she had come back only a few days after Tayouchu was there. The day that Ikko came along Kagome was traveling, promoting her first book. So that was really the very first time that the priestess witnessed the miracle of life. Rin, with only nine years old, aided Kaede with the twins, and two years later with the second kid. It was no big deal to her, unless it was the first delivery she would do by herself, after her training in school. Another couple had talked to her the other day about it, and said they would like her to deliver their child as well - a true honor to Rin. 

She was just checking Sango again, when she thought she saw a shadow crossing the sky outside, very fast. Even Kagome was alarmed by it and her eyes pointed to her bow in the corner of the bedroom. It was a demonic presence.  


“Can I push now??”, asked Sango, panting, lying on her back, and resting her head on Miroku’s lap. 

“Yes, Sango. Go ahead”, encouraged Rin, watching Kagome getting distracted. “Kagome, is everything alright?”

“Is not that I’m grossed, guys… I feel something unusual, and will be on guard outside. Don’t worry”, she apologised and left, already holding her bow and arrow in position.  
~~~~~~  
Shippou watched as Inuyasha’s smile faded into a serious expression. He must have felt it too. There was a youkai nearby, and it was a very powerful one. The fox demon stayed at his friend’s side, holding hands with the twins. Inuyasha held Tayouchu and Kohaku had Ikko up in his arms.

“What’s going on guys?”, asked Kohaku, clueless. 

“Uuuuuuurgh…”, Shippou classically uttered in terror. “It’s a demon. He’s hovering above us somewhere!”

His reaction was starting to make the children upset and worried, but Inuyasha tranquilised everybody.

“It’s not just any demon. It’s my brother, he… He came back”, the hanyou almost could not believe his own words, but there was no mistake. Sesshomaru was really there, and he could smell him. He could never forget that smell, as well was his youkai sibling couldn’t forget his. 

“So, Sesshomaru is here”, mumbled Kohaku, looking grumpy and tense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this fic will turn out bigger than I expected. At some point the topics of the chapters will get distant from Rin's letter, which is the main topic of this fic, so I don't know if I should end this soon, and start another story continuing this one, giving justice to the topics of the future... or just make this a huge fanfic and whatever. Tell me what do you think it's better.


	13. Very awaited meeting, unexpected misencounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, I am doing final essays and tests for this term and college and only had time to write the past couple of days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter is long, compensating the time I spent without posting.

Sango’s screams could be heard from anywhere in the peaceful village. They knew what it was about. It didn’t matter how many times the couple had gone through that, Miroku hated to see his beloved wife suffering so much. He was right behind Sango, supporting her whenever she put her chin on the chest, and held her legs up to push.

“Great job, Sango!”, praised Rin, placing her hand around the tiny head that was coming out. “Don’t push hard now, just breathe… Baby’s almost here”.

“I hate this part! IT BURNS SO MUCH!”, she cried. Miroku held her shoulders and comforted her.

“Just hang in there, love, just a little more”.

In the minutes that followed, the whole head was exposed. Rin took a hold of it, and waited for the next contraction to pull the rest of the little body out. Rin held the child and took all measures to clear the respiratory tract, just like she had learned in midwifery lessons, during nursing class. Just a little tap in the butt later, the infant began to cry.

“Is my baby alright?”, asked the mother, sitting up, and Miroku held her in his arms, before kissing her cheek.

“He is perfect!”, Rin gave them little one, and started finishing her job. The umbilical cord was still uncut and the placenta wasn’t expulsed yet. 

“We have another boy?”, Miroku looked at him as soon as Sango got him, and then cheered. “Yes! We do have another boy!”

Sango was hoping for a girl, but it didn’t matter anymore. She would love him regardless. Rin was just as exhausted as the village chief. Being a midwife for the first time was her lifetime test. Two lives were in her hands, and everybody seemed happy with what she’d done. 

“You could make a living out of this, Rin. I am sure people would pay you well”, suggested Sango. Rin took the baby again to be cleaned. “All villages nearby must be in need of this service, and you will get a reward from me, don’t worry”.

“Oh Sango, don’t bother. This is a fantastic idea, though”, she smiled. “But I wouldn’t charge the poor families, it doesn’t seem fair”.

Kagome came back inside and she looked troubled, and then disgusted, after eyeing a bloody mass inside of a bowl. 

“Are you okay, Kagome? What did scare you so much outside?”, asked Rin, worried. 

“It’s him. Sesshomaru”, the priestess said, in shock. 

The younger woman barely heard his name and her eyes already were fulfilled with tears, but she was trying so much not to cry. Rin was shaking and looked back at Miroku and Sango. She was being responsible for them and for their newborn child, she couldn’t just leave and let her job unfinished. Sesshomaru was not going anywhere so soon. Miroku, noticing her conflict, came closer to her and asked to hold his son.

“We can handle it now, Rin. You may go see him”, he said, releasing her from the care of the infant.

“Oh, thank you all so much!”, Rin broke down and let the tears flow, and tried to wipe them out right before going out of the front door.

The afternoon sun illuminated the region, shining behind Sesshomaru. He had heard the female screaming, and the cry of an infant. It reminded him of Seijin, when he was born. The anticipation was already getting on his nerves. Would she come out or not? When Kagome appeared before him, pointing her sacred arrow at him, he knew she was upset about something he did. The episode when he refused to take the letter from her, and he slapped her hand. Ridiculous. She could have just ignored, but no. Kagome felt that obligation of having an amicable relationship with Sesshomaru, because she was part of the family, she was his brother’s partner. The youkai did no longer have desire to kill Inuyasha, but it didn’t mean he wanted to be friends with him or his human lover. Sesshomaru could smell Inuyasha all over Kagome, meaning they had been mating regularly. That caused him nausea.

A tall thin lady left the home, quite in a hurry. She stopped at ten feet distant from him. Her black hair was as long as his, down the waist. She was so skinny, and yet so gracious and delicate. Sesshomaru caught himself finding her attractive, which made him feel awful. He was not supposed to be that way. She was too much to be the Rin he knew, anyway… Until he heard:

“Lord Sesshomaru?”, her voice tone, and the way she pronounced the words. It was undoubtedly the way Rin would say them. She took a few more steps closer.

“Rin”, he responded, standing still, in his place. His eyes lowered to observe her clothing.

She was dressing a handmade kimono, originated from a rare silky and flowered fabric, the one that he bought for Rin, five years before - it was excessively stained with blood and bodily fluids. 

“The blood is not mine”, she was so embarrassed for ruining his gift. She didn’t plan on delivering a baby with it but it was necessary. “I was helping… With the birth… And…” 

“I know”.

Rin had been waiting so much to meet him, and when he finally arrived she had completely no idea of what to do or say. He was just there, in flesh and bone - the same way he was before, unaffected by age, while she had changed, was still changing. It finally came to her, whatever happened between them, it was going to be so insignificant, so ephemeral, she wondered if it was really worth all the trouble. But if it was, for Sesshomaru… Why was he there?

“Did you read the letter, my lord?”, she finally asked, shaking.

“You shouldn’t have done that”, he answered, rigidly. 

“Why not?!”, she revolted, puzzled.

There was no time to give an explanation. A group of unwanted people showed up. A bunch of children, that ran to his direction, a fox youkai, a grown up Kohaku, and Inuyasha. Their presence caused Sesshomaru to become more introverted than he already was. It was not appropriate to have that conversation anymore.

“I will be back tomorrow”, he said, already turning his back. The kids were blocking his way, grabbing his clothing, studying him. Tayouchu insisted and talked to him:

“You look like uncle Inuyasha. Are you the brother he talks about? Are you uncle Sesshomaru?”

The youkai pierced him with annoyed evil eyes. Did his half brother allowed anyone’s children address him as uncle? 

“MOVE”, he spoke, swinging himself free from the grasp of their tiny hands and fingers - and then walked away.

Rin fell on her knees, struck by her feelings. She couldn’t get near him. It would be too inappropriate. It seemed like he had disapproved her confession, which was hard to swallow. But she couldn’t blame him. She wanted answers, and Sesshomaru was considerate enough to go spoke to her personally, even though that was not what she wanted to hear. He promised to get back the next day, which meant he would explain himself better. 

Inuyasha, Kohaku, and Shippou ran to control the children and see if Rin was alright. The fox demon held the young ones back and warned them.  
“You boys and girls are crazy! Don’t get near Sesshomaru like that. He could have hurt you!”

Kohaku kneeled down to Rin’s level and held her hand.

“There, there. We are here now. His words can’t hurt you as long as you are amongst friends”, he then saw the blood on her kimono, and was frightened. “Rin! Did he do that? Are you okay? I am going to kill him!”

“Kohaku, calm down and listen”, she pulled his arm. “It’s not mine. I’ve just delivered Sango’s newborn son. She is fine, and he baby too”.

He fell sitting, relieved. Kagome opened the door and invited everyone inside, so they could meet the latest addition to the family. She saw Inuyasha standing there, looking at the direction to where his brother went, after a brief chat with Rin. Why did Sesshomaru make them think he was not interested in the letter? What did he say to her, that caused so much discomfort?

“Inuyasha…? Are you intending to follow him?”, Kagome held him from his back and kissed his neck, and Inuyasha retributed with a kiss on the lips.

“Yes. Sesshomaru is acting weird and I have to know what this is about”.

It was a happy night. Everybody was in love with the new baby and volunteered to help with dinner and other tasks performed by Sango before the birth. She was going to a few vacation months now. Her older daughters also played a huge part in that, helping to take care of the younger siblings. It was time for them to be grown ups in that moment. They also wanted another sister, but it was no use complaining. As for Rin, she decided to go to bed earlier, she was feeling tired and unwell. Inuyasha escaped from family’s attention at a certain point, to look for his youkai brother. His smell was intense around the village, meaning, he must have camped somewhere for the night.  
~~~~~~~~  
Jaken spent the whole day mumbling, irritated at his lord’s orders. They were forbidden to see Rin with him first, because he needed to be sure that it was really her, but Jaken suspected it was not just that. As inconvenient as he was, he could have said something that Sesshomaru would be displeased with, and give fake hope to the young woman. He knew his master too much… But he had been acting so contradictorily lately. He had no feelings but he spent his energy and time traveling to meet this human that once was his ward - and Jaken remembered just how much he cared for her, how many times he favoured her over him, while in words he kept denying. No one could ever really understand Sesshomaru.

“Lord Sesshomaru! You came back!”, greeted Jaken, as the youkai approached the bonfire. “What can you tell about Rin?”

Sesshomaru walked in silence, and found a huge root of a tree to make his resting point. 

“She became an adult”.

“WHAT?!? Only in five years?”, Jaken dropped his chin. “Five years almost doesn’t make a difference for us, sire! If she comes with us, soon she will be useless and slow us down!”

“Don’t teach me about what I already know, Jaken. She is human, therefore she is weak”, Sesshomaru clenched his fists, so Jaken knew it was better not to say anything else. 

Inuyasha emerged from the bushes of the forest and found the group of three. Ah-Un only raised their heads to acknowledge who was there. Sesshomaru turned his face, and Jaken confronted him instead.

“Nobody invited you here, half breed! Shoo! Shoo!”, the frog demon kept attempting to hit Inuyasha’s feet with his staff, but the hanyou easily took the weapon and hit him, so he stopped being annoying.

“So, this is what’s happening, after all. You are trying to make Rin give up on you, because she won’t last as much as you, a demon”, Inuyasha pointed at Sesshomaru, the smirked ironically at him.

“Do you forget, Inuyasha, that you also share demon blood, and that it will take a thousand years until you get old? Everything that you’ve conquered, the friends you made, and your priestess partner… Do you realise that, they will all be gone, and you will still be young and strong?”, Sesshomaru was expecting great commotion from Inuyasha, tears, snarls, anything. But no. 

Inuyasha stood his ground. Indeed, a tear formed in the corner of his eye, but he took a deep breath and smiled proudly at the youkai.

“Do you think I don’t know that? Heh, you must think I am stupid, Sesshomaru. I don’t care if they get old and die, but at least I can say that this part of my life was happy - and I just didn’t do anything order than wait for my own death, ‘cause to me, that’s everything you do!”

Sesshomaru disliked Inuyasha’s attack towards his pride and got up. Who did that half breed creature think he was, trying to teach his older brother a lesson? He, who was two hundred years younger? 

“I will not discuss personal matters with you, Inuyasha. Leave, or I’ll kill you right here”, threatened Sesshomaru. 

The hanyou did as he pleased. It was better to go slow with Sesshomaru. For a long time now, their rivalry had diminished. Watching as his friend’s families and relationships developed, Inuyasha started to think what would happen if he could fix his relationship with Sesshomaru. He could have known so much about his father through him, connect the dots of how he and his mother met, and track the origin of Sesshomaru’s hatred. 

While in Sesshomaru’s mind, Inuyasha’s words tortured him. He sounded like Inu no Taisho, whenever he attempted to teach him a lesson, displeased with his megalomaniac nature and the selfishness he had inherited from his mother. Inuyasha was a step from the real truth. From the moment the dog daiyoukai read Rin’s letter, he fell in love with her words, and when he saw her mature figure that afternoon, he ended up falling for Rin herself. What made Sesshomaru so inconstant was that being attracted to Rin was directly related to his hate for Inuyasha, and for his own father. Rin was human, and so was Izayoi. Loving Rin meant that he had to accept Inuyasha, and forgive his father for the choices he made, which pissed him up so much - from his betrayal to his death, and mainly for leaving him Tenseiga and its continuous tests and teachings. Sesshomaru was not ready for none of that yet.  
~~~~~~~~  
“Inuyasha?”, Kagome noticed him joining her in bed, late at night. “Where have you been? Did you talk with Sesshomaru?”

He embraced his woman, and answered: “Yeah, I spoke to him, but I don’t want to talk about it right now, I am tired”.  


“Okay, I respect your decision”, she moved closer, allowing herself to be spooned by him. “But I have to tell you, I am coming back home tomorrow. I have to get back to work”.

“Aaaaaaw… so soon?”

Kagome giggled and kissed his arm. 

“It’s been weeks already! My fan mail must be exploding, and I have to keep up with academical reunions, interviews, autographing sessions, all that stuff”, she kept going. “But you can come with me for a day. I feel like we must tell our plans to the family… About having a baby”.

Inuyasha sighed. 

“I’ve had enough of seeing and hearing and talking about babies for today, Kagome. Let’s go to sleep”, the hanyou was indeed tired of the conversation with his brother. 

All he wanted was to put the bad feelings behind, and move on, wait for another opportunity to be near his brother without being afraid to get hurt. And Kagome was once again surprised with Inuyasha’s immature moment. She knew he was tired, but he needed to remember that they’ve been having unsafe sex for several weeks. A pregnancy was just a matter of time. Witnessing Sango’s struggle, followed by her joy was just something the inspired the Priestess very much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the feeling I am not focusing on Rin as much as I have to, I don't know if it's because I am getting lost with the number of characters - and the fact that we have more previous info on them, or if it's because she and Sesshomaru are still in a process of estrangeness. Is that thing of transitioning from the letter to the real thing... but I think things will fall into place at their own pace. I hope you are liking this so far. Thank you.


	14. One More Frustration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome goes back, Rin and Sesshoumaru meet again, Kohaku still feels something for her... And I decided to name Miroku and Sango's new baby as Batsunan!

It was a couple of hours before dawn when the newborn cried again. They had to get used to it, for it was just the beginning. Miroku was rocking his new kid on his arms in the living room, letting Sango rest as much as she could before breastfeeding again. The baby was called Batsunan. As Miroku tried keeping awake, he spotted Kagome packing her stuff. She was not dressed like a priestess, like she always did whenever she came back, she was back to that weird outfit from the future. The monk found it odd the material called jeans. Rin was wearing it too, when she arrived. It was a very resistant fabric. Inuyasha had just happened to cross ways with Miroku too, helping his partner to get ready.

“I hope the baby didn’t bother you guys that much”, apologised the monk.

“It’s fine Miroku, really”, responded Kagome. “It’s your home, after all”.

“I just wish you could stay more, Kagome”, Inuyasha said, already saddened. “The baby had just arrived, and you’re leaving already…”

“Inuyasha…”, Kagome hugged him, feeling bad for leaving. “It’s not for long this time, I hope. And don’t forget we have dinner with mama and grandpa. Don’t be late”.

“Right”, he nodded positively.

Miroku heard Sango calling. He said goodbye to Kagome and looked forward to see her again soon, before heading back to the bedroom. Inuyasha accompanied his girlfriend to the bone eater’s well, watched her go, and decided to walk around, patrolling the region. It was never too much to be careful. The hanyou spotted the first workers of the village leaving their family houses to hunt, fish, milk their cows, get chicken eggs. Those men made the village function. Some of them were still afraid of him, but Inuyasha greeted them, and tried his best to make them comfortable with his presence. He knew he was never gonna be fully accepted, it was always going to be hard. 

“Anything unusual, Mr. Hotei?”, asked Inuyasha, greeting the older man.

“The village’s been very peaceful since Kohaku and Shippou arrived”, he said.

Later in the morning, all children rose and it was up to Kohaku and Shippou themselves to take care of them first, put food on the table, and help the smallest to use a spoon correctly, without making a mess. Rin was at the river, filling five wooden buckets with water to be used in house tasks. Only after all five were full and too heavy to carry she realised it would be harder than she thought to climb back up the slope. Suddenly, Rin felt a warm and strong breath on her neck. Turning back slowly, she was relieved to discover it was Ah-Un. 

“Oh, it’s you two!”, she hugged the dragon youkai’s both heads at the same time. “I missed you!”

And beside her, there was Jaken, clearing his throat, to drawn her attention to him. She looked down and the little demon looked up, humiliated by her height in comparison to his. 

“It’s unacceptable that you have grown this big! For a mortal girl!”

“I missed you as well, Master Jaken”, Rin kneeled and hugged him, but he was not fond of such contact with humans.

“Release me!”, he ordered, and she obeyed, ashamed. He tapped on his vest, as if cleaning it. “You are an adult and still stupid, but I admit I have missed your stupidity”.

“Thank you, Master Jaken”, she smiled at him again. “Would you and Ah-Un help me out?”, she asked, already lifting two of the buckets.

Ah-Uh carefully took two more buckets with their mouths and Jaken struggled with the fifth bucket that was left, and managed to get only on the middle of the slope, before dropping the bucket on his head and rolling down the riverside. Rin giggled, helped him getting up, and filled the bucket again. Jaken was pissed about being wet.

“Poor Master Jaken!”, exclaimed Rin, still laughing.

“Don’t you laugh at me, skinny brat!”, the vassal protested.

Rin welcomed Jaken into the home, who said hello to Kohaku and picked on Shippou’s nerves. They never got along any time when met, in the past. Rin told the kids Jaken didn’t like to be slayed, like Shippou and Inuyasha, but Ah-Un was good and kind, so they could play with him. Miroku and Sango were surprised to see him, and Jaken even more surprised, because all those children were not enough, they had another newborn in the house. Kohaku served tea to his sister. He was such a good brother, solicitous and worried about her. Jaken’s presence did make him feel anxious and tense, however. He knew Sesshomaru was up to something, even after treating Rin bad the day before.  


“So, Jaken… What do you want with Rin?”, asked Sango, out of curiosity.

“It’s not me that wants something with Rin, it is Lord Sesshomaru”, he said, to everyone’s awe. Kohaku nearly dropped his tea cup, and Rin noticed that. “He wants you to go the forest, alone. He doesn’t want any interruption of YOU”, he was referring to Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and Kohaku of course.

Rin blushed. Sesshomaru wanted to talk privately with her. What could it be? Why was he so harsh the day before? She could see that Kohaku resented about her still. He needed to understand, before any rivalry with Sesshomaru was creat. The demon slayer insisted on going with her to the edge that separated the village from the woods.

“Kohaku, I will be fine”

“If you need help, scream. I will be there”.

And also would Sesshomaru. Rin didn’t understand Kohaku’s sudden change on view about the dog demon. He used to admire him before, he believed in his power to defeat Naraku. His crush on her was slowly blinding him. Rin entered the forest where Jaken had indicated, and started walking, peacefully, yet eager to see him… The daiyoukai to whom she would give her heart, if he desired it. There was no sign of Sesshomaru, after minutes of exploring. Only the sound of birds singing, and the wind blowing the leaves of the trees. A deer passed by, jumping around. Rin stood still, impatient. She hadn’t noticed that Sesshomaru was behind her all the time. Again he was observing her, trying to digest the changes she’s been gone through, and how could he feel attracted her, as the human she was. He wanted to bury his face in the thickness of her black hair, feel her smell from up close, touch her skin… But he was so self controlled that he kept his distance. He thought it was for the best, both for him and her.

“Sesshomaru, please, stop playing with me and show up”, she asked, in a serious and tired tone. 

“You shouldn’t have written the letter, Rin”, he continued from the same point he had stopped in the last time.

“I had to. Those feelings have been bottled up inside me for years! I thought you had the right to know…”, she turned around to face him, but he was too far. “All I need now is your answer. Do you love me back or not?”

“I don’t have to talk about such foolish things with you”, his tone was getting ruder again, and he knew it, but couldn’t avoid it. Rin was being too direct.

“It’s not foolish. You do love me, or you do not. Yes or no. It’s simple”, she looked so hopeful at him, but Sesshomaru was working hard not to surrender to her eyes. It was not simple, it was very complicated. All he gave her was silence, to which she responded “This is the first time you are not precise with your answers, my lord”.

Sesshomaru just frowned. Rin, just like Jaken, knew him too well. He didn’t mean to be rude, by it was hard not to. What would be of his reputation if he got softened by a mortal woman? A woman who would constantly need him because she can’t defend herself.

“Tell me, Rin”, he tried to sound more serene that time. “How do you expect to be with me, if you lack surviving skills?”

“What do you mean? I spent a whole year traveling with you when I was a kid”, she defended.

“But do you remember how many times did I have to save your skin?”

“Is that what is it about? You don’t want me because I am not a fighter like Kagome and Sango? My skills are not worthy? Everything I am good at is not enough for you?”

It was not. Music and midwifery couldn’t save her from any foes that would want hurt her. As he couldn’t be more cruel than he already was, instead of saying it to her face, he looked down and sighed heavily. He couldn’t prevent what happened next. Rin throttled fast to his direction, and fell on his feet. She was crying hard, and used Sesshomaru’s own clothing to clean her tears and hold on to him. It was making his heart hurt, seeing what he had done, and it beat faster, only because she was near.

“I want to hate you, but I can’t. Inuyasha is right. You don’t have a heart, but mine is taking too long to see it. I love you, Lord Sesshomaru”.

Kohaku, came running as fast as he could when he heard her cry. He was just waiting for this moment. He was sprinting from up a tree, watching the last scene, of Rin kneeled before him, desolated, while Sesshomaru was acting so cold. 

“Stay away from her, Sesshomaru!”

The daiyoukai looked up, not exactly surprised, but more disappointed than anything else.

“Kohaku?”, Rin didn’t know what he was doing here.

“I expected more respect from you, kid”, the dog lord said, sarcastically. 

“You’re making her sad by everytime you talk to her! Go away, or I will…”, he threatened to attack him with his weapon, kusarigama.

“Or you will what? Fight me?”, Sesshomaru stepped forward, putting crouched Rin behind him. He placed one hand on the top of her head, and with the other he launched his poisoned whip to break the branch where Kohaku was standing on, making him fall.

“Kohaku, no!”, screamed Rin.

Kohaku was not knocked down so easily, but the time he spent carving the kusarigama in the trunk to stop from falling was Sesshomaru’s queue to escape. 

“Don’t interfere again, kid. I won’t spare you next time”, his voice echoed from afar. 

Rin went to see if Kohaku was ok. He swung on his weapon until it got free from the wood, and crawled safely, to the spot where Rin was waiting and staring up at him. As soon as he landed, she slapped him hard on the face.

“Why did you do that for?! I was trying to help!”

“It didn’t help at all!”, raged Rin, red like a pepper. 

In a matter of fact, his interference forced some kind of physical contact between them. Sesshomaru pat her in the head. It was a protective gesture, but it felt like he was caressing her. If he wasn’t pleased with anything good she had to offer, why did he do that? Meanwhile, the dog youkai also reevaluated his actions. His hand smelled like her hair. Her tears lingered on his pants. In some sense, he felt like Rin. He wanted to hate her, ignore her, get away from her, but he could not.When they came back home, Shippou made fun of Kohaku, asking if he tried anything on Rin, to justify the mark on the face. Miroku thought the same thing, as he was experienced in being slapped for being naughty. Sango called him and found a more private place to talk about what happened. Rin sat against Ah-Un, and buried her face between her knees, sobbing. Jaken instantly got concerned, realising something went wrong, again. He didn’t like to admit, but he was also rooting for Rin to be with Lord Sesshomaru.

“Rin! What happened, Rin?!”, he touched her arm.

“Lord Sesshomaru hates me, Master Jaken! My talents and unique skills don’t have value to him ‘cause I can’t fight!”, she dissolved in tears.

“Oh, no, no, no. Lord Sesshomaru doesn’t hate you. Lord Sesshomaru loves you, Rin!”

Rin lifted her head, confused. 

“He does…? So why does he keep treating me like dirt?”

Jaken had trouble finding the right words. He cleared his throat again.

“You see, milord had never fallen in love before. And I had come to a conclusion that might cheer you up!”, the vassal now talked cheerfully and with pride. “The more irritated Lord Sesshomaru gets with you, the closer you are to his true feelings!”

“Does he have feelings at all?”, Shippou popped his head from outside the door, getting in the middle of the conversation.

“Shut up you fool! Of course milord has feelings! The problem is that you all are not worthy of them! Oh, but you are, Rin! Don’t think you’re the same as them!”

“Master Jaken, how do I get close to Lord Sesshomaru’s heart? How do I become worthy? I know there must be a way… I have to try one last time”, Rin swallowed the tears and looked up again.

Shippou couldn’t stand there, just watching. In that situation, he did not support Kohaku at all. He had to help Rin, even though his suggestions were small mind based. 

“That’s the spirit! If Sesshomaru really has feelings, and has them for Rin, I have the perfect idea!”, Shippou had a naughty grin on his face, which displeased Jaken a lot. “Sesshomaru is gonna be soooo hooked on you!”

“Oh, please, tell me Shippou!”

“It goes like this…”, the fox youkai then whispered in her ear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am on vacation!! YESS  
> It seems my posting frequency slowed down... I've been writing bigger chapters though. I know, 2k and a few hundred doesn't seem much compared to other authors, but I'd like to keep the reading easy... I think chapters bigger than 3k for example are too tiring... or at least that's how my attention deficit mind sees it. 
> 
> I hope you're enjoying this chapter :)


	15. Dinner at the Higurashi's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inuyasha and Kagome have a conflict in the family... and Kagome gets interviewed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're a sucker for InuKag then you're gonna love this. 
> 
> Watching too much Inuyasha teaches you well how to do filler chapters....
> 
> I would categorise it as a filler chapter, but it's so exciting at the same time.

Mama Higurashi answered the door. It was the same journalist, from the same nasty magazine. The girl had been calling and asking for an interview with the famous writer Kagome for days, and her mother wished she could help, but she never knew when her daughter would come back. As Kagome kept track of the calendar, even though in the feudal era, and Mama suspected she might appear the next morning. It was a school and college recess holiday, and Souta had come back home for a visit. It had been for more than two months since he last saw his sister. Souta was enjoying the course he chose, and Grandpa just kept asking all the questions he could, and at the same time bossing him around, because he would always know more, because he was old and experienced. 

As expected, Kagome came out of the well early in the day that followed. She carried an amount of fresh vegetables from the farms of the village, that she was given by the inhabitants, who were grateful for her work as a priestess. Grandpa almost seemed to be more excited about the food than seeing Kagome again. He always loved that his granddaughter had that connection with the past, respect for her ancestors and the history of the Higurashi shrine. 

Kagome cried when saw her brother, and gave him a bear hug. He told her everything about the medical school he was studying at, the teachers, subjects, love interests, friends he made, and it goes on. The writer didn’t tell much about what was going on in the feudal era, she thought it was better to save it for the dinner. The topics were very delicate to talk about without Inuyasha, mainly about their plans to have a family. Mama Higurashi got her apprehensive when she knew about the journalist Miuki Ueda, from the Hanashi magazine, annoying them, looking for her, asking for an interview. Grandpa spied on the young woman one day and she was at the stairs of the shrine, writing notes about everything she saw. That looked kind of invasive, to be honest, but Hanashi magazine was like that, trying to know everything about the current celebrities of Japan.

“Wait, am I a celebrity? In my country?”, asked Kagome.

“Yes, sister! You are! You’ve been one of the most quoted people in the internet nationally in the past few weeks. Everybody loved your book ‘Society, Habits, and Costumes in feudal Japan’!”, Souta showed her in his phone the social network stats, to prove her. 

All day long Kagome answered her tons of emails from fans, new fans, and other professional stuff related. She never thought her work would give that much result. The phone rang, and she answered it.

“Hello, Kagome Higurashi speaking”.

“OH, FINALLY. IT’S YOU! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! YOUR FAMILY HAS BEEN TELLING ME YOU WERE SPENDING VACATION ON THE COUNTRYSIDE BUT I DIDN’T FIND YOU ANYWHERE!”

Kagome even got the phone far away from her face. She didn’t understand the reason for screaming.

“Who are you?”

“Oh, I am sorry for my manner! Is just that it is a pleasure to finally talk to you, Miss Higurashi! My name is Miuki Ueda, from the Hanashi magazine, and I would love to interview you!”, the journalist introduced herself. 

“Uuuh… I have to think about it. I am having dinner with my family, and I wish not to be disturbed”.

“Please, Miss Higurashi… my deadline is tomorrow afternoon, and everybody is counting on me for this. I told them I would get Kagome Higurashi’s interview and my boss will be angry if I fail”, Miuki pleaded.

“Fine…”, Kagome sighed, impatient. “Nine o’clock, tonight. And I want to take a look at your notes. I don’t want my family to be exaggeratedly exposed, do you understand me, Miuki?”

“I do! Whatever it takes to publish your interview! We will do it your way!”, Ueda was so relieved. She thought she could be fired it she didn’t make it happen.

Night fell in. The reunited family did everything together, enjoying the moment, remembering the old times, when Souta was little, and Kagome didn’t disappear for days. It was surprising how everything changed so much, in so little time. They wondered where Inuyasha was, since it was told he was going to join them for dinner. Kagome tried her best not to feel disappointed so easily. Anything could have happened, from a rescue mission to a battle with some enemy or demon trying to invade the village. Mama perceived how worried she was, and asked if everything was okay, since she told so little of the weeks she spent back there, with her friends. Trying to distract her a little, Mama asked about Rin, she was also curious to know if her plan of finding the love of her life was working. She left in the middle of the night, without saying goodbye.  


“Do you mind talking about her, Souta?”, Kagome was aware of their relationship some years before, and feared she could touch a soft spot on him.

“No, not at all!”, of course it would make him remember, but he was tough and had gotten over it for a long time then. 

“So, as I was saying… Rin has feelings for Inuyasha’s brother, Sesshomaru. I think I told you about him a dozen times already…”

“I remember you said he tried to kill you and Inuyasha almost every time you met him”, Grandpa recalled.

“Yeah, but that kinda changed”, she blushed, trying to summerise. “I think I also told you how we met Rin, didn’t I, Grandpa?”

“Yes, honey”, Mama confirmed. 

“When we started dating, Rin was always concerned about what would Lord Sesshomaru think. Would he approve that I am with her, or would he be jealous…”, Souta completed. “Does that mean she went back only to search for him, sister? Sesshomaru loves Rin too, right?”

A loud noise was heard, as Inuyasha finally appeared, entering through the front door without the slightest ceremony. He was rude, and impolite, and his hair was black and his doggy ears disappeared.

“Sesshomaru loves Rin my ass!”, he blurted.

Nobody cared about his bad mouthing because they were too impressed with his human form. The Higurashi family had never seen him like that. Their eyes followed him, as he sat and served his own portion of the food. Kagome usually forgot how moody he got whenever the new moon was up. He felt insecure, unsafe, clumsy, weak, and everything else that was bad about himself. 

“Inuyasha, could you calm down for a second?”, Kagome held one of his wrists. “Are you not forgetting anything?”

“I am sorry”, he blushed and got up, ashamed. “Good evening Grandpa, Mama, and Souta”, he bowed and sat down next to Kagome again. The three of them were not as frozen as when they first saw Inuyasha changed, and were pleased that he apologised. 

“Now, what you were saying was…” 

“Sesshomaru made Rin feel bad again today. I can’t believe that guy!”

“Made her feel bad how?”, Asked Mama.

“He said that she’s too weak and worthless to be with him. He said that to me, and now said it to her. I knew it. When I followed him the other night I heard he and Jaken talking about Rin. He doesn’t want her because she will age and die before he does. She slapped Kohaku in the face, and he was only trying to prevent Sesshomaru from hurt her feelings!”

“Your brother is surely evil. Rin should not be near him”, Grandpa commented.

“Who’s Kohaku?”, asked Souta, puzzled.

“Sorry, Souta. You’re not on the waiting line anymore”, informed the hanyou. Kagome pinched Inuyasha, for saying that. “Auch!”

“It’s not like that! She doesn’t like Kohaku!”.

“Yeah… But Kohaku likes her…”, he answered back.

It was nine o’clock in the evening. The doorbell rang exactly at that instant. Kagome knew who it was, but she wasn’t the one who answered the door. Feeling solicitous and wanting to make it up for his rudeness earlier, he walked to there and received the visitor. The braided haired woman was incredibly shorter than Inuyasha. She looked up, a bit frightened, but carried on. There was a guy behind her, holding a camera, round faced, wearing a turned cap on his head.

“I am Miuki Ueda, from the Hanashi magazine. I am here to interview Kagome Higurashi. Is she at home? Are you related to her?”

“Yeah, and… She is my girlfriend”, he said, naturally. Kagome cringed inside, because there was one more personal information for the journalist to feed on. 

“Really? Kagome Higurashi is in a relationship! What is your name? For how long have you been together? What do you work with?”, by every step she took forward, Inuyasha was drawn back, intimidated. “Bakaru, take a picture of him!”

“My name is Inuyasha. Uhh, for eight years I guess. I am the protector of the village, I kill evil demons and…”

Inuyasha was never photographed by a professional camera before, and the flash temporarily blinded him. Kagome pushed him back inside and stood in the way, closing the doors behind her. Inuyasha didn’t know Miuki was a reporter neither what reporters did. His naiveness in that situation could put several secrets in danger. Kagome was very angry at the photographer as well, she didn’t remember agreeing to be photographed. 

“The interview is with me, not with him!”

“Sure thing”, Miuki shook in fear of the writer.

“Please let’s do this the fastest possible”, she sighed again, wondering if Inuyasha was fine. “You ask and I answer. Simple as that”. Bakaru took a picture of her, without asking, again. She snarled. No more pictures.

Ueda cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses, anxious. Basically, the questions were autobiographical. She was asked about the past of her family, why did they live in a shrine, if her grandfather influenced her in choosing to be a historian, what inspired her into writing books about feudal Japan… Kagome had to lie about a bunch of stuff, but her answers fulfilled Miuki’s curiosity. When the secret priestess thought it was over, the reporter insisted on getting more information about her boyfriend and their relationship.

“What kind of name is Inuyasha? And why does he have long hair, geez… What does he mean with ‘killing evil demons’?”

“Heheh, heheh! Well, it’s only a name. He lives in a village in the countryside… I’m not telling you which, obviously. Killing evil demons is just an expression for hard working in the field!”

“I see, Kagome Higurashi, a sophisticated girl from the city falls in love with a humble provincial!”, Miuki thought that as a possible headline. “Last question: do you plan having kids you two? How many?”

“Yes, and only one”. Phew… Kagome was glad it was done. She hoped never to see that girl’s face again or the photographer’s.

When she entered back in the house she slid down the door slowly, until sitting on the carpet. It was tiring to deal with such an annoying journalist. Kagome would be so lucky if she didn’t distort half of the things she said, considering all the actual lying, in a attempt to mask the fact that what Miuki saw was not the real form of her boyfriend, that he didn’t come from the countryside, and when he said kill evil demons he was speaking the truth. There were two possibilities, from then on: Hanashi would smash Kagome, make everybody hate her, and she would soon lose her fame - or the magazine would exaggerate and refere to her as a princess, making even more people love her and become fanatic, transforming her quiet life into hell itself. Mama, Grandpa, and Souta looked somehow shocked, while Inuyasha was blushing and smirking nervously.

“Inuyasha, why are your cheeks so red?”, asked the woman.

“Is it true what you told the journalist, Kagome?”, Souta questioned. “Are you two planning to have a baby?”

“Oh, my… I forgot to mention that, didn’t I? Inuyasha was late and I was waiting for him to tell you, but then we started talking about Rin…”, Kagome went on and on and her voice only got lower. 

“Oh, Kagome, my precious daughter!”, Mrs. Higurashi came to her daughter’s embrace, happy with the possibility of having a grandson or granddaughter. Grandpa was not a bit excited about it, he was worried.

“Will the child inherit demon traits? That can be dangerous! Inuyasha, no offense, but you are an inhuman creature… with animalistic physical features, special yet dangerous powers, and nearly immortal”, the elder pointed out.

“Oh, but I am sure they are being careful, father. That’s why they have the new moon, right?”, Mama only made things worse.

“Does that even matter, grandpa? And how sad about you mom, because I would be honoured to bear Inuyasha’s hanyou child. There’s nothing wrong with it. It saddens me that, after all these years, you can’t accept Inuyasha they way he is”, tears emerged on Kagome’s face. Inuyasha got up, also visibly shaken, and went upstairs. 

“I’ll make sure I will leave early tomorrow, so you don’t have to look at my monstrous appearance again. Kagome’s not even pregnant yet and you’re all making stupid suppositions… Damn you!”, he headed directly to Kagome’s bedroom.

Of all the places he was rejected from, his girlfriend’s family was a surprise. They must have thought a family was never in Kagome’s plans, so they didn’t have to worry about having a freaky hanyou in their family lineage. At the same time, it would be so much easier if the baby was in fact, human. Inuyasha would wash away his mother’s sins, and he or she would have the right to Izayoi’s heritage, since Inuyasha himself had nothing to give. At the same time, the kid could have friends in both worlds, could walk around without something covering the years. Kagome and the child would age together, she would see her baby become an adult. Souta was the only one who defended Kagome and Inuyasha downstairs, he always thought of him as his hero, and accepted him the way he was. Kagome was worn out of the discussion and soon left and joined Inuyasha in her bedroom. They sat down in bed together, and the hanyou in human form told her what was in his mind, his resolution. 

“You always taught me to be careful and I think that… for both of our family’s sake, it would be better if the kid was human”.

“So, you’re suggesting that we only have sex on moonless nights? Or at least, without protection?”, asked Kagome. Whatever he decided, she would support him.

“Yeah, and I think we should start tonight”, Inuyasha suggestively kissed her ear and cheeks. Kagome giggled, relieved that he wasn’t as much upset as it appeared.

“Okay, then”, she allowed him to make his make his move, and once again, the night was theirs. “But please, Inuyasha, remember that I wouldn’t mind at all having a hanyou baby. I knew what I was getting into when I started a relationship with you”.

“Thank you so much, Kagome”.


	16. Rin's broken heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin and Shippou put their plan to work. Sesshomaru has to put an end to her measures.

Inuyasha was back in the following day, as a hanyou again. The news about the tension during the dinner struck Miroku and Sango. It was an absurd. Rin heard it all from her room. It made her think. If what Inuyasha said was true, she too, if paired with a youkai, would have a child that defies the laws of time and nature, and that will struggle to be accepted and survive amongst men and women, and Rin would age so much faster that the kid would become orphan of his mother soon, like it happened to Inuyasha himself. Izayoi didn’t make it to her fifties, remembered the hanyou. She got sick and left him to face the world with the looks of a ten year old boy, when he was, in fact, thirty and something years old.

It frightened Rin, to realise once again how time was against her, killing her chances to be with Lord Sesshomaru by every day. But, if Kagome was aware of that and still stayed with Inuyasha, and planned having a family with him, even with all those problems lying ahead of them, why couldn’t Rin be courageous enough to face the same thing. Izayoi and many other men and women had done that also, and parented their hanyou children with pride, for the time that they could. Jinenji’s mother, for example, still lived, and she was somewhere between 80 and 85 years old. She too was strong and faced her destiny. Rin thought that, if she proved that she was strong and dedicated, Sesshomaru would finally see her value. Either way, Shippou’s plan was still up, and Rin believed that last resource was her final chance to make the youkai pay attention to her.

Sesshomaru seemed different in that day, and Jaken knew what he was going to do. His master didn’t dare to look over the house where Rin was living, as if he was in a process of detachment from it. He wanted to leave. He took some steps forward, deep into the forest, and then stopped and looked back at Ah-Un and his servant. 

“Jaken, what are you doing standing there? We are leaving”

The frog demon didn’t answer, he started shedding tears instead.

“Why do you cry, Jaken?”

“I cry because Rin is very sad with you, milord. She is almost giving up on you and going back through the well”, he explained.

“Good. This is what I want. In that other world she will be safe”, said Sesshomaru, decided. “Let’s go now”.

“But, Lord Sesshomaru, I didn’t say she gave up for good! Rin is scheming with that fox youkai who is friends with Inuyasha!”, even though Jaken was totally against anything planned by Shippou, he was too curious to know what the goddamn scheme was. He was still rooting for Rin.

“Scheming what, Jaken?”, Sesshomaru turned around to face his vassal. “Are you lying to me, Jaken? If you are, I will kill you”. Jaken ran and fell on his feet, pleading for mercy.

“I am not lying, Lord Sesshomaru! I saw Rin and that brat whispering to each other, and they said that their intention was to lure you! I was forbidden to listen to rest of it, I swear, milord, don’t kill me!”

Sesshomaru smirked, and his interest in the secret plan of Rin grew. He was naturally fond of testing himself following into the traps that were set up to him, so he could prove no one was capable of deceiving him. His only purpose in “falling” for that one was merely convincing Rin to go home. How many times did he have to hurt her feelings to make her see that she was better off without him? That their love for each other would only bring sadness? 

He spent the rest of the day lurking Rin around, and she never knew he was there. He hoped to see her plan in action, and stop it from the beginning. Unfortunately, he didn’t see anything that looked like a scheme. She was only taking care of a bunch of kids, washing clothes, buying food, and other stuff that were not scheming. He was already clicking the joints of his claws. Jaken made a fool out of him and he was surely going to make him pay. When he started looking for his vassal, he saw that he was not with Ah-Un. Smart little Jaken, hiding in his acquaintances home to protect himself. Rin arrived from the village centre and started unloading the food she bought from the farmers and hunters. As soon as she put a huge mushroom on the floor, it transformed into Shippou. 

“That’s why my bag was so heavy!”, exclaimed the young woman, pinching on the fox’s cheeks. 

“Our plan is working, Rin!”, he smiled and giggled devilishly. “I could smell Sesshomaru wherever we went!”

Out of nowhere, and all of a sudden, Jaken urged inside the door, and jumped on Rin’s long leg, crying his eyes out. Inuyasha snarled at him, bothered by his presence.

“What is he doing here?”, said the hanyou, angry. “And what plan? What’s going on?”

“Help me, please! Lord Sesshomaru is going to kill me! We were supposed to leave today, but I stopped him”, he buried his face on her kimono, desolated. Shippou, with his chest forward, revealed them the truth.

“I have a plan to make Sesshomaru fall in love with Rin, and I didn’t let Jaken know the details, although he knew I was up to something. As we all know he can’t keep his mouth shut, I was counting on him to warn Sesshomaru, so he followed Rin around… And he did follow her!”, Jaken let go of Rin and attempted to hit Shippou, but failed miserably. Sango and Miroku’s kids started laughing hard at him.

“Now he thinks there is no scheme at all, and wants me dead for it!”, the vassal cried again. “Please, let me hide in here! I know he wouldn’t dare disrespect a family home only to get me”.

“Sango, what do you think?”, Miroku was desperate to give a payback on Jaken for everything he did since the beginning, and his face expression was obvious to her. She corresponded to it.

“Sure, you can stay… But… You will have to let the children slay you!”, Sango leaned against Miroku and giggled with him.

“SLAY? ME? Are they demon killers already?”, Jaken tried to crawl back on Rin, who was reactionless, but Inuyasha pulled him down.

“C’mon, they’re just gonna play with you!”, said Inuyasha. The twins and their two younger brother started poking him and jumping on him, while everybody else laughed. 

Rin went outside once more, and looked over the greenish lawn, that ended in the forest where she talked to Sesshomaru the last time. She wondered if he was there, spying on her at that very moment. And he was. Dying to know what the scheme was, if there was any. Shippou followed Rin right after, and stretched. He could sniff the powerful youkai in the air still. 

“He is really watching, isn’t he?”, asked Rin, with a sigh.

“Positive, Rin. It has to be tonight”, Shippou decided, serious. “Sango sent Kohaku alone to a neighbor village to patrol and slay some evil demons today. He won’t spoil it”.

“And Sesshomaru is about to leave me again. I can’t let that happen without trying one more time”, she recalled. 

It was supposed to happen at night. Rin was laying on her mattress in her room and let her tiny window open. She was suppose to have a nightmare and call out Sesshomaru’s name. They knew it would be too easy for him to figure out she was pretending, so they had to make it real. Using some unusual vegetables and potentially hallucinogenic herbs mixed with calming herbs, they prepared a tea for Rin to drink before sleeping. Her hands shook as she sipped on the cup, that was given by Shippou. 

“Will she die from drinking this?”, asked Jaken, preoccupied. 

“I don’t know, but of course not!”, Shippou believed it had nothing life endangering in the tea. 

“She’d better not die, or Sesshomaru will kill not only me, but you too! He will tear you apart in tiny little pieces and eat them as a snack!”, the frog youkai was very insecure about it.

“Master Jaken, stop. You’re not helping being negative like this”, said Rin, in a peaceful tone. It seemed like the liquid was already making effect.

She slowly fell asleep, before the two little youkai’s eyes. Shippou and Jaken covered her with a warm blanket and left the bedroom walking on the tip of their toes. Then, they only had to wait, in silence, not to wake up the rest of the people who slept in the house. 

It didn’t take long until Rin’s mind began to work, stimulated by the essences of the herbs Shippou put in her drink. She saw herself as a six year old child, living in a little house with three other children. They were her older sister and younger brothers. Her parents were there too, dancing without music, only for the amusement of their kids. Rin was smiling, and kept repeating: “Mommy, Daddy, I miss you, I miss you”. Suddenly, the memories of the night bandits slaughtered her village and her family made themselves present. Rin started crying then, with all those visions of fire, blood, sound of people screaming. She hid herself along with the corpses of her own family members to escape the criminals. The dream changed again. She was now in a dark forest, alone. Rin saw him, Sesshomaru. He was walking ahead of her and getting distant by every step. And she called his name: “Lord Sesshomaru… Lord Sesshomaru, I am here. Don’t go away, Lord Sesshomaru”. Suddenly, Sesshomaru disappeared in the dark. The shadows morphed and turned into hungry, giant wolves. Rin turned around and started running. In real life, her legs moved, and she removed her warm blanket from upon her with the involuntary moving. 

She kept on calling his name, this time in a desperate tone, but not loud enough to wake up someone else, it was a kind of call that only Sesshomaru would listen. “ Lord Sesshomaru, they will get me. Help me, Lord Sesshomaru”. When the wolves jumped to attack her, they all turned into one single canine. It was a large and black dog, dripping saliva from his jaws onto Rin, too petrified to move. It was the hound of hell which emerged from the Meidou Stone. Like it happened in reality, he swallowed Rin and jumped into the underworld. In the nightmare, Rin’s body couldn’t move because she was dead, but her mind was very well alive, as she presenced the horrors she had gone through. The guardian of the underworld had her in its grasp, and she couldn’t get out of there. Rin was crying and still calling for her lord, but her visions were only getting more evil and realistic. The monster was leading her to the direction of a glowing red circle, and she could only smell death around her. “Lord Sesshomaru, I don’t want to die! Lord Sesshomaru!”

A streak of light entered Rin’s bedroom from the little window. Only Shippou and Jaken were awake to notice what happened. The fox youkai then left the house along with the other culprit, and headed down to the river. It was Sesshomaru who went to Rin’s aid, tormented by her voice saying his name. He couldn’t believe how far she would go to make him come to her, but her nightmare was too excruciating for anyone to bear. The powerful youkai lord sat down next to Rin, and held her close, trying snap her out of whatever terror she was experiencing. Inside her head, Rin began to hear a constant sound becoming louder by every couple of seconds. It was the beat of someone’s heart. She heard this smooth male voice calling to her, followed by two heartbeats, again and again. With a gasp for air, the woman finally woke up, but kept still. Only her eyes slowly opened to look up and meet Sesshomaru’s face.

 

“Rin”, he said once more. His arms held her back, touching her against her ribs. “Are you awake now?”

“Yes”, Rin lightly grabbed his arm, now fully present, and smiled with the corner of her mouth. “It was a bad dream, that’s all”. Sesshomaru seemed to breathed relieved. If that was her plan, it was almost working. He wanted to go along with it, until he could no longer. “Get me out of here, my lord”.

“Where should we go?”, he asked, serene, trying to resist and keep reminding his first purpose.

“Just outside is fine”. Sesshomaru carried her and transformed himself in a streak of light again. In seconds they were stepping on grass, and the nocturnal wind blew their long hairs. 

Rin’s sleeping kimono was thin and white, showing off more of her than usual, but Sesshomaru didn’t know that she intended to show more than that. She led him down the slope that met the river. The waning moon shone over it, reflecting itself in the water. The inuyoukai took a little distance and sat on a rock to observe what foolish things Rin would do next. He understood that she wanted to impress him, seduce him. It was working, but that did not change his mind. He could not stay with Rin. At the other margin, Shippou and Jaken were hiding behind another rock.

“What a terrible idea! You convinced Rin to be vulgar before Lord Sesshomaru’s presence! And I will not allow you to look at her, only milord can observe Rin’s bareness!”, Jaken pushed Shippou and blocked his view putting his tiny hands over the fox’s eyes. 

“Shut up, Jaken, they will hear us if you keep making a scandal!”, Shippou tried to fight over Jaken, but the vassal’s obstinence won the dispute. 

Rin pulled up the end of her kimono, exposing her beautifully drawn thighs. She walked into the river, and before the water reached her hips, Rin unfolded and removed her clothing. She would only do that for Lord Sesshomaru, and no one else. Sesshomaru thought his heart was going to jump out of his mouth, but outside it only looked as if he was unimpressed. By every little thing Rin did, it got harder to reject her, to say what he needed to say, and he knew the longer she kept thinking her plan was going to succeed, it was going to be much harder for her as well. The element of desire from both of them made it all more complicated. It was proven to him that she wanted him, but she didn’t get to find out that the feeling was mutual, and he wished that she didn’t, given the circumstances.

“Rin, stop”, he asked, directly. “Come out and put your clothes on again”.

“B-but, Lord Sesshomaru, I th-thought that…”, Rin stammered, hesitating, but started moving towards the rock where she put her kimono.

“You thought I was going to surrender and join you”, he guessed. 

Rin blushed, trying to cover herself with her hands, until she was dressed again. Sesshomaru turned around, in respect. A loud noise at the other side scared her and she dropped her clothing on the river. The flow took it away and he didn’t see it. It was Jaken and Shippou’s fault, of course. Their identity was still preserved. Rin walked out of the river anyway, and started shaking, feeling cold. Sesshomaru facepalmed when saw Rin again, still naked, but closer to him, only centimetres away.

“Use this”, Sesshomaru removed his own outer kimono for her to borrow, and waited until she was better presented. “You shouldn’t have embarrassed yourself that much”.

“Does my appearance embarrasses you, Lord Sesshomaru? Does it bother you this much that I am human?”, her eyes were already filling up with tears. By the looks of it, Sesshomaru would terminate the conversation faster than he expected. 

“It does bother me, Rin”

“Why?”, she almost couldn’t take anymore, such humiliation.

“You remind me of the one who lured my father into her charms, which caused his demise and death. Father could not protect his own self, his lands, and a mortal lover at the same time. He died because of someone like you”.

“You… Selfish… SON OF A BITCH”, Rin yelled, whimpering. “For all these years, since I first met you, I kept trying to convince everybody that you are not a monster, but that’s all you are!”. She fell down on her knees and kept on crying her soul out, shaking, distressed, tired, destroyed.

“Jaken, I know you are there. We are going NOW”, he finally noticed. 

Surprisingly enough, Jaken punished Shippou with a hit of his staff on the head, that caused the fox to be dizzy. Sesshomaru left Rin there, just like that. He would retrieve only to collect his kimono back, when she was already gone, and then it was goodbye for good, forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a sad and tense chapter... But it's not for too long :)


	17. It won't be that easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everybody is looking for Rin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darn, the longer it takes me to post a new chapter, the bigger the chapter gets!

While Shippou lied there kind of unconscious and Sesshomaru moved away, Rin was still kneeled down, buried in her own tears and sadness. She couldn’t think straight and couldn’t careless about her own life and safety. She wouldn’t bare having to explain everybody the plan had failed, she would not be able to hear from her friends that they all already expected that to happen, that she shouldn’t have been so naive. Rin knew it was nothing, but the truth. She was naive, deluded, blunt with the platonic ideas of love she planted in her own mind. Too much time away from Sesshomaru made her forgot how he really was, or he just changed into someone that didn’t want to share his time with a pathetic human girl he saved when she was little anymore. Rin also needed to forget, so she just ran.

As she couldn’t see straight she crashed into a barrel, that turned entirely over her. By the smell, it was Sake, and Rin was soaked with it. She had so much trouble getting dry after entering the river earlier and got herself wet again. Before the owner showed up she began running again, until she couldn’t see houses no longer. The Forest of Inuyasha, it was called. Not as dangerous as it was before, but still, a forest inhabited by many kinds of animals and demons. Only there Rin thought she would find enough peace to think things through, and gather courage to do what she had promised, but she didn’t know how. She was barely dressed, wearing only Sesshomaru’s kimono, her last memory of him, soaking wet in Sake, hiding between the roots of the Tree of Ages, with nowhere left to go, she thought, before sobbing until she fell asleep once more. 

Morning came, as the sun rose. Back in the house, Miroku and Sango found it strange that Shippou didn’t want to play with the kids alongside with Inuyasha. He was too quiet and looked very worried about something. Kohaku arrived just in time for breakfast, for he had been traveling back since a little before morning. He was eager to get back, to see his family, to see Rin again. He already found it odd that her bedroom door was still shut. He knew how Rin liked to wake up together with the sun, because she was the sun itself. Shippou trembled whenever they spoke her name. He hadn’t seen her come back from the river after Sesshomaru dumped her. He couldn’t recall many details of it also because Jaken smacked him with the two headed staff. 

“Shippou, what are you so uneasy today? Is something wrong?”, asked Miroku, right away.

“Do you know what’s gone with Rin, or why she won’t leave her bedroom?”, Sango also wanted to know. “You two had been scheming to attract Sesshomaru last night weren’t you?”

“YOU WHAT?”, Kohaku couldn’t believe what he had just heard. “Shippou, I thought you were on my side!”

“From now on, I am, Kohaku, don’t worry”, Shippou’s shaky and anxious voice concerned everyone, mainly Inuyasha, who started paying attention to the conversation.

“The plan went wrong, right?”, guessed the hanyou, approaching the slide door of Rin’s room. Shippou swallowe dry, refusing to answer, but Inuyasha pressed him into spitting out the truth. “Right, Shippou?”

“Sesshomaru said nasty things to Rin, I heard everything”, the fox youkai was practically crying. “He said he couldn’t be with her because she reminded him of your mother Inuyasha, and your father’s betrayal. Rin was so devastated! I think she ran away, because she didn’t come back home!”

“Ah-hah! I knew it! She is not even here!”, Inuyasha finally opened the door, revealing Rin’s absence. Everybody was in shock. “You don’t have to cry, Shippou. All we gotta do is follow her scent and bring her back!”

“That is the problem, Inuyasha. I can’t find her scent! It’s gone!”, Shippou cried harder.

“What if Sesshomaru was so irritated about Rin frequently testing his patience and ATE HER?”, Kohaku was getting desperate and paranoid. Even Sango was feeling that his passion for Rin was getting out of control. She did not correspond to it. He had to let go.

“Yeah, but then we would be able to smell her blood, genius”, answered Inuyasha, impatient with Kohaku’s weird behaviour.

“I don’t care! Sesshomaru was the last one to see her, he will be the one to tell us where she’s gone to! I am going after him”, Kohaku carried his kusarigama and left, as if in a hurry.

 

Sango clenched her fists. That was enough. Kohaku could screw up big time picking up a fight with Sesshomaru. She knew he wouldn’t lay a finger on Rin to hurt her. She didn’t want her dear brother to get hurt or die for such a silly reason as women as well. Nobody knew what to do about the situation, but Sango did, she was calm and wise enough to think things through.

“Inuyasha. Go after Kohaku, don’t let him do anything foolish, would ya?”

“Okay, I’m on it!”, Inuyasha nodded affirmatively and raced after Kohaku.

“Shippou. Miroku. You will search for Rin in the forest, in case she went that direction. The kids and I will search in the village”, she decided.

“Right!”, both Miroku and Shippou spoke at the same time and began their quest. 

“We are going to find Rin, aren’t we, mommy?”, Emi, one of the twins said.

“Of course we are. You and Ami, get your brothers ready and go ahead. I will take my time with Batsunan, but I will be right behind you”, assured Sango.

Rin wouldn’t let herself be found that easily. She didn’t want contact, with anyone. It seems nobody could track her scent, because she smelled like Sake. She used that in favor to keep hiding and keep staying out of Miroku and Shippou’s path. Meanwhile, Inuyasha tried to catch up with Kohaku. Sesshomaru never travelled in a hurry, so he didn’t get too far. Kohaku found him first and pointed his weapon at him.

“Sesshomaru. I demand you to tell me what have you done with Rin. Where is she?”.

Not again, thought Sesshomaru, as he stopped walking. Jaken immediately ran and hid behind a tree. The youkai had done “nothing” to Rin but to give her his own kimono to wear and convince her she was better off without him. 

“Leave me alone. You know exactly where she is”.

“She hasn’t come back home after you spoke those evil things to her, and nobody saw her after that. It’s your fault!”, Kohaku was preparing to attack Sesshomaru once again. 

The youkai really resented it would end up like this. He drew Bakusaiga from the sheath. Kohaku jumped towards him and Sesshomaru looped backwards to collapse his sword with the kusarigama. Seconds before the blade and the mass of demon bones could meet, Inuyasha put Kohaku away from the scene, by jumping on his head with both feet. So, in the place of Kohaku’s weapon, Bakusaiga met with the powerful Tetsusaiga instead. The demon slayer fell sitting on the ground. Even though Inuyasha could protect Kohaku, the poison of Bakusaiga caused Tetsusaiga to shake in its wielder’s hands. Both swords were equally destructive, and if Sesshomaru wanted he could force himself upon his brother and make Tetsusaiga transform back into its old junk primal form. The descendants of Inu no Taisho pulled and took their distance.

“Kohaku, are you nuts?!? The most insignificant cut of his sword would have consumed you! And even if you defended yourself with the kusarigama, it also would get infected and disintegrate, because it’s made of bones”.

“You learned well about my sword, Inuyasha. I can say I am impressed”, said Sesshomaru, with a sarcastic tone. “It was the least I could expect, since I know everything about Tetsusaiga”.

Kohaku realised the foolishness of his actions and stood where he was, feeling ridiculous. Sesshomaru could perceive that, therefore it was not necessary to kill him anymore. 

“Rin is gone, Sesshomaru”, informed Inuyasha thinking it would come as a surprise to his brother.

“That’s what I wanted. She is in the world of that partner of yours, so she is safe”.

“She is not safe. I can’t smell her. Can you?”, pleaded Inuyasha. Instantly Sesshomaru discreetly sniffed the air. Smelling Rin should be easy, but it was not. He couldn’t get anything. “The last place she was seen was by the river, where you left her”.

Sesshomaru changed direction and started walking back to the village. Ah-Un and Jaken followed him. Kohaku and Inuyasha were not too far behind. It was possible to say they were together as a group. The fact that Rin suddenly had no scent worried him. He loved Rin, he would never have said all those things if he didn’t knew that she was going back through the bone eater well, like she said in the letter. Why wasn’t Rin following what she had proposed to herself? Why did she put herself in danger instead of going straight back to that school of hers? After some time hammering himself, trying to find what went so wrong in his strategy, Sesshomaru summoned his vassal to get closer.

“Jaken, I want to make you a question”, the daiyoukai lord serenely spoke.

The frog demon catched up with his master, and awaited for the so said question.

“Was I too immoderate with Rin?” 

“Well, sire, I-i don’t think I am the most appropriate person to answer”, Jaken was sweating of nervousness. He was perfectly capable of answering, but he feared he angered Sesshomaru with it.

“Was I, or was I not?”, Sesshomaru stiffened his tone. Jaken had no other choice but to share his view on things.

“I would say you were immoderate, Lord Sesshomaru, but not too immoderate. I mean, Rin has more feelings than necessary. If she was tougher, she probably wouldn’t feel like a spear had pierced her heart… No! I didn’t mean it was like you pierced her heart, let me make another comparison… It probably felt like removing the ground from beneath her feet… Oh! I’m sorry milord! That also didn’t sound any less horrid-”

“Enough, Jaken”, interrupted Sesshomaru. He knew Jaken was trying not to shove it on his face not to disrespect him.

Sesshomaru had his feelings awoken, alright, but empathy was something still to be developed and sharpened, like a diamond. Sesshomaru could only still distinct two emotions apart from love, and he knew them very well: fear and sorrow. He once felt sorry for Kagura, when she died, and now he constantly feared for Rin, always did. His actions to repulse her, trying to send her back were purely driven by fear. Sesshomaru wouldn’t bare being guilty of losing her once again, so he had to find her, and that was what he was going to do, no matter what.  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
The hours of the day went on and on and still no sign of Rin. Miroku’s sensibility abilities seemed rusty and he couldn’t perceive anything unusual. Shippou soared across the forest in his balloon form and also couldn’t track the missing woman. If Rin had learned one thing very well when traveling with Sesshomaru when she was a kid, was how to hide. She was very good at finding cover from the youkai lord’s enemies, during their epic battles. Sango was especially stressed when her husband told her they failed in their mission. She and the kids entered in almost every house of the village and all they could find was a broken Sake barrel, meaning a big animal or demon could have walked around the night before, at the same time Rin went missing. Miroku decided to take his wife back home, because being tense was not good for her and also for their newborn baby. He remembered that Inuyasha and Kohaku would come back soon and keep on searching.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
It was night already in modern Tokyo. Kagome was trying to survive her moment of fame. She had both radio and TV interviews booked for the same evening. After spending a couple of hours at the radio station, she went directly to the TV channel building. The Higurashi family was watching the live stream at home, together. She was more self controlled that they thought, but always kind and devoted whenever she gave an answer. It was nothing more complicated than the usual. Still, she had to lie about the origins of her boyfriend and pretend that everything she lived in the other side of the well was not real. Kagome hated to do that, but had no choice. She needed to protect the only place where the afflictions of the modern day-by-day didn’t affect her.

Inuyasha found Grandpa, Mama, and Souta hypnotizingly staring at the plane device with moving images inside. If only they were aware of how serious the situation was… And the hanyou had to take Kagome back to help them. Maybe she was the only one capable of finding and soothing Rin from being dumped by Sesshomaru. Even Sesshomaru himself agreed to help in the search, but he had his own way of doing things and wanted to do it alone. It was his fault, after all. 

“When is Kagome coming home??”, Inuyasha asked again, impatient. “It’s important. Rin is missing!”

“Calm down, Inuyasha. I am calling the TV channel reception to see if it’s possible for Kagome to get out earlier”, Mrs. Higurashi was by the phone, eager to help. She was feeling bad for the other night and wanted to make it up for her cruel words.

Souta found it hilarious watching on the telly a random employee whispering to the program host. It was probably about Kagome leaving. She wasn’t answering any questions at the moment, she was just sitting by the side of another person that was being interviewed and sometimes all three would chat about some general topics. The TV host looked at the camera, quite shocked and assuming his comedian side.

“Looks like you’re being summoned back home, Miss Higurashi. I wonder what it might be…”

Kagome didn’t want to look worried and played along.

“Really, Mr. Moto? It must be my boyfriend, Inuyasha. I’m coming, Inuyasha, be a good boy and SIT tight while I don’t arrive”, the enchanted beads worked even from the TV, and the hanyou went down, scaring the life out of Grandpa, making him drop the soup he was eating.

Kagome was delivered home by the own TV staff. Inuyasha was kinda pissed about being told to sit for no reason.

“Kagome, what have I done this time?!”

“Hunf! You interrupted my interview live!”

“Enough of this crap, we have to find Rin. She’s vanished no one knows where she’s gone! Even Sesshomaru can’t capture her scent!”

“Inuyasha, what do you mean with Rin is gone? And what about Sesshomaru?”, Kagome was confused with the amount of new information.

“I will explain on the way. Hump up!”, demanded Inuyasha, turning his back so Kagome could jump in.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Until then, Shippou was the only one with a clue. He had found, at the margin of the river, way ahead of Sango’s house, Rin’s night kimono. That only caused everybody to panic more. When Sesshomaru was seen in the village, though, they began to connect the dots. The youkai lord had the first layer of his clothing missing. Was the mystery of Rin’s disappearing related to that evidence? Had the demon done something more evil to her than first thought? 

“No, no! milord would never be capable of doing such thing to Rin!”, answered Jaken, in Sesshomaru’s defense. “Rin undressed to Lord Sesshomaru, and she lost her clothing, so he had to lend her his kimono… But I swear I didn’t see anything and Lord Sesshomaru didn’t lay a finger on her!”

“Right…”, Kagome acknowledged, with some oddness. She soon found out she wouldn’t be much useful. Everybody else had already tried all her ideas. “And why are you not helping him?”

“He said he would kill me if I insisted!”, Jaken was always terrified when threatened. 

Rin saw it when Kagome and Inuyasha emerged from the well, quite in a hurry. She was feeling guilty for making them worry like that about her, but there was no time to apologise. After making sure no one else was in the forest looking for her, Rin throttled to the border of the well and looked over it. The path would only open if she had a genuine purpose, and she did have one. To disappear, to stop suffering, to get away. The national orchestra admission tests would still be open by then. She had to give it a try.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
One blow of the wind caught Sesshomaru’s attention. She couldn’t smell Rin, but the air was filled with a heavy, acid, and at the same time sweet aroma. He found earlier the Sake barrel turned over, which everyone think a bear or a youkai was the guilty. Sesshomaru felt different about it. The barrels were located ahead of the river and the chief leader's home. If, during the night before, Rin had to run towards somewhere, it would be to that direction. Guessing that Rin was the one who turned over the barrel, that would explain why there was Sake smell all over the place. No one came to that conclusion, not even Inuyasha, whose nose was known for being extremely accurate. The daiyoukai decided then, to follow his instinct, and investigate the trail of the alcoholic beverage scent. He moved slowly, trying not to let any detail pass undetected. The villagers trembled before his presence. The children were mostly curious, peeking from the windows of their houses. 

It was dark already when Sesshomaru reached the Tree of Ages. The Sake smell was stronger there for some reason. By one huge root there was an amount of leaves and smashed grass forming some kind of nest. Rin must had spent some hours of sleep there. His thoughts spoke loud in his head. 

“So, this is the place… The tree where Inuyasha was sealed onto by that wicked and powerful priestess… Kikyou, wasn’t it? And they loved each other, until Naraku deceived them, jealous of their hearts, so he tainted them”.

After that, the smell only led him to walk in circles, back and forth. That must had happened when the monk and the fox youkai were out to search for her, and it seemed Rin was trying to avoid them at all cost. The scent became fresher by the time he got closer to the bone eater’s well. Sesshomaru walked up until the edge and peered inside. He could see nothing but darkness, and the smell was only of dirt and bones. Rin’s alcoholic masked trail had gone. The inu youkai didn’t notice he was spending minutes there, in the same spot, merged in some numbness Sesshomaru himself couldn’t understand. He regretted his decision to spook Rin away from him. It took him that much to understand he would rather keep her scent close, in the air he breathed, than having no scent at all. For three days he tried resisting to what he felt for Rin, and each time they met it became harder for him to proceed with his plan. While on the other side it was the exact contrary. Rin tried for three days to grasp him, fulfill her heart with his love, and he did not correspond, out of pure stubbornness, and fear, let’s not forget.

“That’s where I come from”, a female voice said to him, from behind. It was, of course, Kagome. “I still can remember like it was yesterday the first time I passed through, and met Inuyasha”.

“Hm”, hummed Sesshomaru. It was doubtful if that meant understanding or negligence. Either way, Sesshomaru was paying attention.

“I understood, after a long time, that the well opens if the traveler has a genuine and strong purpose in life. Mine, at first, was related to fate of the Shikon jewel. After the jewel was destroyed, it took me three years to be able to come back again. Then my purpose changed. It was Inuyasha. I belonged with him, and he with me. That’s why he can go through as well”.

“Why is Rin able go in?”, Sesshomaru cut her speech, serious. He got the point, he just wanted to know what does it have to do with him and Rin. Kagome smiled to him in sympathy. 

“It took me time to see the reason too, but I think I know the answer. You know well how good her heart is, and that she would never wish malevolently about anything. When she first left, five years ago, she wanted a new life, and the well opened to her”, discussed Kagome.

“And she came back only… Because of me”, told Sesshomaru. The new life she was looking for was not enough for Rin. None of the things she learned there were equal to what she felt for him, and now he could see that. The well permitted her to come back just for him. “She left again because I made her suffer”.

Kagome courageously approached the brother-in-law, and stayed at the other side of the well, facing the demon. All she wanted to do was help. She could feel it again. The frustration in his heart, and something else trying to break through, but Sesshomaru himself didn’t allow it. The only thing that could be was the love he had for Rin, trapped in his remorses and fears.

“Why did you make her suffer, Sesshomaru?”

The youkai looked down at Kagome. 

“You are familiar with Inuyasha’s sword skills, aren’t you?”

She nodded positively.

“When I first discovered the Meidou Zangetsuha, I visited my mother, in search for more information about it. I learned that my mother inherited from my father a Meidou Stone. It was his will that she used it when I came to advice, and she did what she was told. Even though Tenseiga became stronger and the Meidou skill was nearly complete, it caused Rin to die for the second time. Mother revived her and gave her a last chance”.

Kagome was impressed. She surely had never heard Sesshomaru say so much, since they met. Suddenly she felt that Sesshomaru trusted her, or else he wouldn’t tell such story. 

“Are you afraid to lose her again? Is that why you don’t want her to be with you?”, she questioned. He didn’t answer that time. He didn’t have to. The truth was written on his face. “But you do love her the same way she loves you, don’t you? It is okay to be afraid. Everybody is afraid to lose their loved ones, but you can’t live only in fear, or else you won’t live at all”.

Sesshomaru recognised the wisdom of the young priestess’s words. He never thought that Kagome could learn so much from a society that wasn’t hers originally. The deceased priestess Kaede proved to have transmitted a good amount of knowledge to this girl that Inuyasha made his. Her advice inspired some courage in him, and as he looked down again, he could see something beyond the blackness of the well. Surprised, he unintentionally stared back at Kagome. She could only show support and smile again.

“Go get her, Sesshomaru”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you still liking this? xD I gotta ask...


	18. Our Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sesshomaru confesses to Rin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned finishing it on world's kiss day but I was unable I had to fix and rethink so many things.
> 
> edit: OH I completely forgot to share these two links. One is the pajamas Rin is wearing in this chapter and the other is a playlist I am doing for the fic. It will be updated as I continue writing.
> 
> Rin's pajamas: https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2014-05/31/22/enhanced/webdr02/enhanced-1716-1401588790-2.jpg
> 
> Letter to Sesshomaru playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/12144337943/playlist/7FBVdgWrsdVUYz4Kz8N6bU

The first person Rin saw after coming out of the bone eater’s well was Souta. She jumped into the embrace of his arms, and she was crying so much, so hard, hiccupping her tears within her painful moans. 

“I am so glad to see you, Souta!”

Her gesture came as a surprise to him. He thought he wouldn’t ever see her again after they broke up, and that was two years ago. Souta knew Rin only needed someone to comfort her in that moment. Inuyasha was keeping the family updated on her situation, so he imagined how hard it was for her to go through such big deception. There was no happily ever after with Sesshomaru. He was not the prince charming she had always pictured in her mind since she was a little girl. It was nothing but a fantasy. 

“Rin, let’s come inside. You need a hot bath and proper clothing”, Souta put an arm around her and welcomed her home.

Mama and Grandpa were relieved to see her well. It was a pity none of them had what it took to go the feudal era to warn Inuyasha and everybody else that Rin was safe. Rin made them swear they wouldn’t say a word. She wanted to disappear. Her plans were to pack her bags, which were left there, in the Higurashi home, spend the night, and take the first bus in the next morning back to Kobe. She had all the contacts from the people she needed there, and could move on from that point. She sounded cold, empty, about the whole thing. It didn’t feel like she loved it enough to be the life that she deserved. She had been so happy the few weeks she spent back in the feudal era, it made so good to her spirit, she truly belonged there, and not on the other side, but nothing could convince of the contrary, mainly after what Sesshomaru had done. 

As promised, they prepared her a bath and she spent nearly an hour in there, relaxing. She needed it. The stench of Sake in her skin and borrowed clothing were making her sick. Actually, the kimono itself, for belonging to Sesshomaru was sickening enough, it made her cry. Mama Higurashi put the beautiful kimono in the washing machine. After, Rin was out of bath and dressed in one of Kagome’s pajamas that Mama lent her. It was a light pink cotton flannel set, with little horses printed all over the blouse and pants. When she came downstairs again, the three family members were still awake. They had prepared one more bowl of soup just for her. Rin was surely starving. She spent more than one day missing, hiding. She didn’t dare to drink a single drop of water or search for food.  
“You are so kind for helping me”, thanked Rin, relieved for having food on the table. “I always knew I could rely on you”.

When Rin finished her dish, Mama Higurashi was about to collect her bowl and plate, but the young woman insisted on taking and washing her dishes herself. She had already given too much trouble to everyone, and wanted to help them too, in any way she could. As soon as Rin got up, she felt weird goosebumps running all over her arms and neck. Suddenly, while looking through a window ahead, she spotted a familiar figure walking by and disappearing. It was impossible to mistake the silhouette for anyone else. It was Sesshomaru that Rin saw. In shock, the girl dropped the bowl and plate, that broke on the floor, while covered her mouth with one hand, not believing her eyes. Rin gasped with a cry. 

“Are you okay, Rin? You look so pale it seems like you’ve seen a ghost!”, Grandpa said, in his exaggerated manners. 

“And I might have just seen one…”, she mumbled, so no one could hear right.

“What?!”

“I’m fine, Grandpa. It’s nothing. I got distracted, that’s all”, Rin answered him, giving out a fake smile. Deep inside, she was cringing. 

“Darling, let me take care of those. You must be tired from everything you’ve been through today. Go to bed”, Mama Higurashi reckoned her exhaustion and started picking up the pieces of the dishes on the floor. 

Rin went upstairs. Kagome’s bed was made just for her. She felt uncomfortable for sleeping in someone else’s bed, but it was just for one night. The last night close to that well, to that world that she was learning how to reject and forget. Rin tried to believe that what she saw through the window wasn’t him. “I must be going insane”, she said to herself. Merely five minutes after that, she heard footsteps outside. The sound of the shoes seemed a lot like Sesshomaru’s boots - even the rhythm of the steps were recognisable. The noise got closer and closer outside towards under the bedroom, and then stopped. Impatient, and at the same time dying of curiosity, Rin rolled quietly out of bed and crawled to the window. She slowly sat up, opened the window, and peeked to see who was down there. Only a little glimpse of Sesshomaru’s image made her draw back. It was impossible. Sesshomaru had a dark soul and blackened heart. He wasn’t supposed to get through. He wouldn’t know how, anyway.

“I know you’re there, Rin. Your attempt to hide is useless”.

His voice made her blush instantly. She didn’t want to feel this way, after everything he did. But one thing she had to recognise. “Look how far he went to look for me”, the thought came to her head. Everybody in the feudal era went nuts trying to find her. Even Kagome had to travel back to aid Inuyasha and their friends. If Sesshomaru went to the trouble of going after her, it was because he worried. If the bone eater’s well opened to him, it meant he was worth of being listened. Rin appeared at the window again. She took a better look at him that time. He didn’t wear his armour. It was unnecessary, that world was a big lack of threats to him. A white thin inner kimono covered his chest and arms. The fur on his shoulder swung with the blow of the breeze. “Why am I paying attention to that?”, Rin kept observing, analysing, talking to her own mind. After taking several deep breaths, she opened the whole window up, and sat on the edge, with legs out. Sesshomaru walked a little bit forward, attentive if she could fall.

“I want to get down. Will you catch me when I jump, my lord?”, she asked, feeling anxious. He only took another step forward, preparing.

Sesshomaru catched her in the air, and floated down to safe ground. Rin could feel the warmth of his skin, while he thought he felt her shiver. They avoided looking in each other’s eyes. Did that gesture mean they could trust each with their words? That there would be no more lies? That Sesshomaru had something else to say, that didn’t have the courage before?

The youkai was interested in the large tree in the Higurashi yard. He couldn’t believe how much it resembled the Tree of Ages of the feudal era. Even the scar on its trunk, caused by Inuyasha when he was sealed… It was there. Sesshomaru walked ahead of Rin, until he stopped in front of the majestuous ancient plant. Rin stood right by his side and observed the tree with him.

“It is the same tree”, told Rin. “The Tree of Ages, the one that never gets old. It still blossoms during spring”, as she spoke, Sesshomaru gently held her hand, but his face expression remained the same as usual. 

“I came here to get you back”, he said, monotonously. Rin’s cheeks burned. The hand Sesshomaru held went numb. ‘That is, if you wish so”.

“I thought you were ashamed of me”, a tear escaped from her eyes.

“I wish not to be”, he held her hand tighter. Rin gasped silently.

“What do you want me to do, Lord Sesshomaru?”, she finally stared at him, expecting him to do the same.  
“If you become strong and capable of defending yourself and our family, then you will have what it takes to be the wife of a youkai”, Sesshomaru spied her with the corner of his eye.

That was enough for Rin - it sounded like a proposal. She placed herself in front of him, freed her hand and put the back of it against his forehead.

“Wife...? Family…? Does milord have a fever?”

Sesshomaru sighed and held her wrist, removing it from where it was. Rin feared he would squeeze her, but no, he was tender, and placed her palm against the left side of his chest. His heart was beating in an accelerated pace. That was his way of telling her he loved her. He would never be able to express it into words, but his actions would make justice to his sentiment. Rin was the only one who understood Sesshomaru’s body language completely. She knew what he was telling her. If Rin proved Sesshomaru she was strong, he would be eternally devoted to her. Rin moved her hand again, and dragged Sesshomaru’s to her heart too, so she made sure to him that the feeling was mutual. His hand was so big its palm covered the whole left side of Rin’s chest and her small breast. He breathed in surprise, and she in slight arousal. Sesshomaru rubbed his thumb against the fabric, petting her skin underneath. Rin whispered him a moan, and closed her eyes. 

That was when Sesshomaru leaned down, grabbed the other arm of the woman and kissed her in the lips. It was a wet, gentle, medium lengthed kiss. His lips trembled when in contact with hers, probably meaning that he was also anxious for that. Rin laughed and cried at the same time. She wasn’t expecting that Sesshomaru’s kiss would be so warm, so honest, so tender. She held him tight, burying her face in his chest to hear his heart again, and it was even faster than before. She knew what he wanted, but he was too afraid to ask or do again. Rin pulled him down for more kisses, those that were hard and desperate from her part. 

“That’s enough, Rin”, Sesshomaru straightened up again and kept her in his arms. “You have to rest. You’ve been under a lot today”.

Sesshomaru carried her bridal style back to the bedroom she borrowed. It smelled like the priestess who advised him and also had the stench of his half brother. They had been mating like rabbits and that bedroom was their favourite love nest, judging for the intensity of the smell. Suddenly, he had a moment of self consciousness, and dozed on his reflections. “So, my father’s unusual tastes passed on to my generation. This Inuyoukai family is cursed with the attraction for the human scum. Even I, Sesshomaru, cannot escape. Did father feel this way when he met his female human lover?”. Sesshomaru was experimenting for the first time the ache of being in love. Something that was so good, could be, at the same time, so cruel. He acknowledged then the extent of Rin’s suffering the previous days. She loved him for years now, so she had suffered as well all along.

“Are you going to leave me already, my lord?”, Rin’s eyes sparkled in the dark. 

“We leave in the morning”, he replied, back to his usual tone.

“Okay”, she smiled at him once again, before shutting her eyes. Sesshomaru rolled his eyes. He couldn’t pretend to resist her sweet face. He kneeled, stroke Rin’s cheek, covered her with the sheets, and then left.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
Rin was up earlier than expected by the Higurashi family. Her smile was bright, and she looked energised. Breakfast was served. Rice, cold tofu, and fried fish. The girl was eating quite fast, for everyone’s surprise. No one can simply forget a trauma overnight. 

“Rin, did you bring your suitcase down already? I see you only got your guitar case with you”, Mama Higurashi worried.

“You will miss your bus, lady”, Grandpa also said.

Rin blushed and started stammering. She didn’t know how to bring them the news.

“I am not traveling to Kobe anymore, sorry”, she shrugged with a shy smile. “I’m going back to the feudal era, with Lord Sesshomaru”. Mama, Grandpa, and Souta open wide their eyes, confused. Had Rin gone crazy over the rejection?

“Rin, how can you say that?”, Souta asked, worried about her mental state.

“I saw him last night. He was worried about me, and came to see me”.

“Whoa, are you saying he went through the well? I thought only good people could do that. Even I can’t!”, said Souta, in awe.

“Lord Sesshomaru is good. He was only… How should I put? He was confused about his feelings”, defended Rin. Sesshomaru appeared again on the side window, scaring Grandpa.

“Souta! Please fetch me my sacred sutras! There’s a full fledged demon outside! I can feel such a strong aura! He escaped from the well and will kill us!!”, he screamed. Rin held him, and calmed him down.

“He’s not going to kill us, Grandpa. That is Lord Sesshomaru, Inuyasha’s brother. The one you’ve always heard about”, said Rin.

“We haven’t heard anything pleasant, Rin”, responded Souta, also apprehensive. 

Rin opened the door and invited the youkai inside. Grandpa cowardly hid behind Souta. Sesshomaru rounded the house, took only a first step inside the home and stood there, concerned with the reaction of the inhabitants. He was not welcome and he knew it. Mrs. Higurashi, that for one moment had disappeared, came back to the scene, now holding Sesshomaru’s missing kimono. He glared at her, and she was not afraid. Sesshomaru took the clothing from her hands, and dressed it. She smiled, like Rin smiled to him, like the priestess too. 

“Those are Kagome’s relatives, my lord”.

“Are you finished with your meal, Rin?”, he questioned, caring little for the ones around her.

“I’ll be done in a minute”, she answered. She could capture his awkwardness towards those people, but she had to try making him look good in the situation. “I’m sure he liked meeting you guys, and is thankful that you took care of me”. The last sentence was true, but he would never admit it.

“You are welcome”, said Mama Higurashi. She bent before him, showing respect. His stare softened towards her. In Sesshomaru’s view, she seemed to be much less pathetic than the dull young man and the foolish, annoying, elder cornered the other side of the room. 

Rin stood up, put her dishes in the sink. She put her acoustic guitar case on her back, and gave a goodbye hug on each of three. Souta was the last one. She knew it was shocking to him that the girl he dated prefered an inhumane, cold, infamous beast than someone like him, or at least she thought he felt that way.

“I am sorry, Souta. It would never work between us”.

Something clicked in Sesshomaru’s mind as she said that. He realised she was once related to that boy, the younger brother of the priestess. He frowned angrily at him, picturing him touching and kissing her. Rin got in the way, distracting him from Souta. She was ready to go. As always, he walked ahead of her, but Rin soon catched up and held his arm with hers, sticking to him, like glue. He didn’t complain. 

“What is this on your back, Rin? Your weapon of choice?”, he referred to the guitar.

“Oh. No, it’s not anything dangerous. This is a guitar, a six-string musical instrument. I will show you later how it sounds, if you want”.

Sesshomaru looked a little displeased. Rin should be thinking about her safety from then on, and not about music. Still, he loved her the way she was. Her naiveness, humility, silliness… Those qualities balanced his. Rin gave equilibrium to Sesshomaru’s scale. He only hoped she could do more than that, be more than that, for the sake of her own life. Back to the feudal era, both demon and woman hesitated before rejoining the community of old friends and acquaintances.

“Lord Sesshomaru”, called Rin, while he adjusted his armour onto his body. 

“What is it?”, his eyes were on hers.

“I promise not to let you down, my lord. I will try my best”, she said, nearly watering her eyes. Even though wordless, he had to show Rin he was willing not to let her down as well. Sesshomaru leaned towards her face and they kissed shortly. Rin was a tall woman, the demon was a lot taller, still.

Sesshomaru stared at the sky. A roar was heard ahead of them. It was their friendly two headed dragon, Ah-Un, being ridden by Jaken, who had happiness tears on his face. He jumped on Sesshomaru’s leg, and rubbed his face against it.

“Lord Sesshomaru! You’re back! You were dearly missed, milord!” 

POW! Sesshomaru punched Jaken out of him. 

“Show more respect to Rin. She’d been missing for two days”, the youkai ordered. Rin blushed.

“I am truly sorry, Rin!”, cried Jaken, with a big lump on his face. “I am glad you’re back, I really am!”

“I believe you, Jaken, don’t worry”, she gave him a big smile. 

For the first time in ten years, and as a team, Sesshomaru, Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Un trolled through the forest, back to the village, to deliver Rin in safety. It looked like things were about to change from then on. Rin was not a servant, below Master Jaken, liken when in childhood, nor she was officially his woman. She was in the middle, and had to conquer her way to the top, to completely gain Sesshomaru’s trust in her strength, so she could finally become a proud and respected wife of a daiyoukai, and not be seen as a weak spot. Sesshomaru wanted Rin to be feared just as much as he was. He would do anything in his power not to fall in the same fate as his father. That was his main objective in life, in that moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. This is like the end of the first climax of the fanfic. Since it will be a huge monster and I decided not to separate it into two fics, I will explain how this is gonna be. From now on the focus changes. It's not about the letter anymore... 
> 
> From the epilogue (chapter one) until this chapter (chapter eighteen) it will be called PHASE A. From the next chapter (chapter nineteen) until the end (chapter ?) it's PHASE B., and several other things will happen and cross the way of Rin and Sesshomaru as a couple, and how they relate with the other couples, Inuyasha and Kagome, and Miroku and Sango.


	19. Going on a trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seijin and Inukimi are notified by Sesshomaru the kid will have a new home and a new mother. Kagome has something important to tell Inuyasha. Rin and Sesshomaru kind of make out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I am back once again, debuting the first chapter of Phase B.  
> I didn't think it was possible to write so much for one chapter.  
> On google docs it was 17 pages.

Seijin was playing hide-and-seek with Inukimi’s servants around her floating castle. She liked to watch him, and it reminded her of Sesshomaru, when he did the same. She was never the kind of mother who would spend hours doing silly games with a kid. Inu no Taisho was the one who was always there for Sesshomaru, making him laugh. He never laughed after he matured. He became like her, as if it was his fate. Then he would interact with his mother, mostly about his father’s deviations of behaviour. Daiyoukai had to act and think with their brains, not with their hearts. Passion led to risk, and risk led to death. Sesshomaru had earned passion from his father, but the patience and cautiousness from his mother. At a young age he discovered the taste for supreme conquest. That became his motto, so to say.  
Little Seijin had no desire for power, and had no passions to follow. At least not yet, and hopefully never. It would take fifty or sixty years for him to figure out what kind of youkai he was destined to be. Sesshomaru was visiting his son earlier. He was quick, but he had big news. 

“Seijin, I have found you a new home. You will be safe and will have other children to play with”.

“Really? Will I meet children like me? I am so excited, father!”, the boy smiled broadly at him.

No. They were not like him. They were human. His talk interested Inukimi.

“Does that mean Sesshomaru has found also a new mother for his son?”, she asked, rising an eyebrow.

“But I have a mother already, I don’t want another”, Seijin complained. His grandmother sat him on her lap.

“Your mother is unable to raise you the way she should. That’s why you will be under the care of a new one. I can’t take care of you forever, I already fulfilled my duty when I watched your father become mature”.

“I will come back in a couple of weeks to pick you up”, informed Sesshomaru. Seijin lowered his head and nodded. He couldn’t protest against his father’s choices.

“Sesshomaru, wait”, his mother called. “I am bewildered that you managed to find a woman so quickly. Is she worth?”

“She’s being tested”, he said, leaving. “She will be here when I come back”. 

Interesting answer, that was. Inukimi was curious. What kind of youkai would Sesshomaru look for, in such desperate times? There weren’t many who kept traditional clans and families, like the Inuyoukai. That ancient model was perishing and the demon population was decreasing.  
~~~~~~~~~  
Kagome spent the last three weeks at home, working. She made Inuyasha promise he would give time to her. She was not going to disappear on him. Besides, she was reserving a little surprise for him. Kagome had found out, not much after Rin had disappeared - and reappeared - that she was pregnant. No one knew it but her family. It was challenging to keep such secret away from the media, but she managed. She was really afraid of going to the doctors to get an ultrasound exam. What if it was undoubtedly a hanyou? What if the doctors got scared with a possible trait earned from Inuyasha and confused it with a deformation? She had so many questions, and she wished Kaede was still alive to help her, to tell her what she knew. Modern doctors and hospitals were a blessing, yes, but how would Kagome expect they would understand her circumstances?

The famous writer arrived home, and Mama greeted her telling she had prepared her favourite meal, and she’d better eat it all. Kagome had to be strong and healthy before going back to the feudal era again. The rates of maternal death back then were well known, and preoccupying. It was Kagome’s choice. To be a mother like in the old days. She had to protect her hanyou baby at all costs. 

“Honey, have you decided how you’re going to tell Inuyasha?”, asked her mom.

“Oh man, he’s going to be so thrilled! Like I am going to be an uncle!”, celebrated Souta.

“Humm, this child would better not become an evil demon, or else it will be slain at a young age”, Grandpa’s comment should never be taken seriously.

Kagome was still thinking about it. They always said to her to not say anything before ten weeks of pregnancy. Kagome was seven. Inuyasha was loud. He would tell the whole world and brag about how proud he was. 

“It’s so hard keeping secrets in an ancient village. I think I will tell him right away. He doesn’t like it when I hide something from him”.

“That’s so boring, sis! You have to make him guess! There so many fun videos I can show you to be inspired!”, Souta grabbed his phone and began searching for the videos. 

“Okay, I agree, but I have to be very creative!”

At night Kagome revised her studies and books on feudal Japan family traditions and found some interesting things about pregnancy. She hoped Inuyasha got the message, since he witnessed all Sango’s pregnancies until then. She packed her stuff and got ready to go back the next day.  
~~~~~~~~~  
It was a morning like any other for Rin. She helped Sango with house chores, looked after the children, went to market with them, assisted in leadership tasks and so many other stuff. It was all like before, but one thing. She was with Sesshomaru. She had some deeper connection with him now. Everybody was so relieved that she was fine and she was back. Lord Sesshomaru had found her, confessed to her. It took a while for them to believe it was true. Their meetings were not supposed to be seen. Sesshomaru was not the type that would expose himself and a woman he cared so much about. Rin knew a part of it was shame and shyness, still, but she respected it, as he was always there when he said he would be. As he always would demonstrate clearly how much he loved her - not with words, but with his actions. Sango often sent Kohaku and Shippou to other villages nearby to solve their issues with evil demons and bandits. Slowly, the young demon slayer accepted that Rin was not for him, that she was happy with the youkai, happy as never seen before.

Miroku later joined the group, to take the children to play ball with the other village kids. It was a great way to communicate with other parents and see if they needed anything, or had some complaint to do. Batsunan was always against Sango’s back, Miroku took a little walk with Ikko, while Rin kept an eye on the other three, Ami, Emi, and Tayouchu, who played ball. Some children were older than them, and she feared they could get hurt at some point. Gladly, nothing happened until then. At some point, the ball accidentally went inside a bush in the bordering woods, but hit something inside and bounced right back. A painful scream was heard. “OOUH!”

The villagers, alarmed, stared at the apparent “talking” bush. A two headed dragon emerged from behind the trees and started eating the leaves of said bush. Before anyone screamed or panicked, Rin ran towards the animal, who she hadn’t seen for two weeks.

“Ah-Un!”, Rin hugged their necks, and the beast roared, as if greeting her as well. “Where is Jaken?”

With his head covered by leaves and little branches, the imp youkai stumbled away from the bush, dizzy, seeing stars around him. Rin picked him up from his vest and called out his name, trying to make him come back to his senses.

“Master Jaken, are you okay? Master Jaken?”

He soon became conscious again and got angry and desperate to be free of Rin’s hands.

“Put me down at this right instant, petty girl!”, he shouted, shaking his arms.

“Alright. Calm down”.

Miroku told the villagers it was fine. Those two demons were kind and harmless. Sort of. But the crowd didn’t disperse. They were bewildered about how natural it was for Rin to come up and interact with them. It was obvious she knew those demons for a long time. This girl, who before didn’t matter to them, was starting to attract people’s attention. Who was she, after all? How did Inuyasha and his friends met her? Only a few older inhabitants remembered and soon they would start talking about Rin. Their looks made her fell uncomfortable. 

“Where’s Lord Sesshomaru?”, she whispered to Jaken, crouching down to his height.

“Milord says he will meet you at the flower field”, said Jaken, loudly, cleaning dust from his vest, as if Rin’s hands had dirtied him.  
“The flower field!”, Rin knew where it was. It was close to Sango and Miroku’s home, where she still lived as well. A few weeks before there weren’t any flowers and suddenly they all bloomed in a beautiful yellow, colouring the grass. “Miroku, Sango, may I be excused?”

The couple smiled at her.

“Yes, Rin, you may”, allowed the demon slayer and chief. 

“What are you waiting for? Go for it!”, encouraged Miroku.

The young woman curved, thankful, and went away running, as if in a hurry. She passed by Inuyasha, who was resting on a branch of the tree he liked the most. Rin always ran to see Sesshomaru. They didn’t speak, but the hanyou couldn’t avoid his denial about the whole situation. “Sesshomaru, that liar… He hates humans and turns into a heartthrob for her… What an hypocrite!”

The young woman reached the flower field, but found herself alone. That was so typical. He liked observing Rin, just like a prey, before surprising her. Enchanted with the beauty of the flowers, the girl decided to kneel down and make herself a flower crown to match her own clothes. She was wearing a copy of her childhood kimono, the first one that was given to her by Lord Sesshomaru. She crafted it herself. It was the first one. Kaede wasn’t there to make kimonos anymore, so Rin had to learn it by herself. Of course, she got help from Sango here, and Jinenji’s mother there, but it was mostly her own work. 

Sesshomaru hesitated before meeting the woman he chose. He was, like thought, observing her, from afar. He wished he could freeze what he saw in a painting, or even freeze time itself. His beloved Rin was there, kneeled in a field of yellow flowers, surrounded, wearing a kimono that was yellow and orange, like the one she wore ten years before. That colour sticked to him. Yellow was Rin’s colour, her theme, her soul. Yellow like the sun. Rin was his sun, and he was her shadow. Sesshomaru patiently closed in and caught her focused on her little project.

“Rin”.

“Lord Sesshomaru! I’ve been waiting for you”, she spoke. 

“I hope you have behaved yourself”, he meant it. Jaken told him that men always get more interested in girls that are already promised to a partner. He also kneeled down.

“Why wouldn’t I?”, Rin thought the question was strange, but ignored it. “Here, try it”, she surprised him by placing her flower crown on his head. “I think it looks better on you than on me”.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow and felt that urge again, that strange sensation. He would smile at Rin if he could. He would be blushing from embarrassment at that moment if he was able. He removed the flower crown and tossed it away. A youkai shouldn’t give in to such silly thing. It was ridiculous.

“Hey! I spent time doing that…”, her complaint was in vain. Sesshomaru could care less about a flower crown. When she noticed, the dog lord was centimetres away from her only, leaning towards her.

Sesshomaru kissed her parted lips and pushed back.  
“So much suspense for only one kiss, my lord?”, Rin looked mischievously at him. Sesshomaru removed his heavy armour, and it fell with a bang. 

He drew near again, nearer than before, now that nothing was in the way. The youkai put his big hands around her head, with his fingers between her hair, and pulled her for more kisses. She had no more reason to complain. In fact, Rin was giggling. Her tiny hands grabbed his kimono, squeezed his mokomoko on the portion of his shoulder, making Sesshomaru hum. She forgot that it was actually part of his body. It was kind of his weak spot for caresses. The more she would pet it, the more he wanted to kiss her. Soon they found themselves exchanging their love on top of each other. Rin opened Sesshomaru’s kimonos and pulled them down to his upper arms. She wanted to see him, learn how he looked like where he often didn’t show. She wished for a few seconds she could brag about how attractive he was to her friends at the orchestra.

That was officially their third encounter as lovers, and Sesshomaru knew they were going too fast, but nothing could stop them now. His animal side didn’t want that moment to be over. Soon his brain would be in charge again, taking control of his actions, but until then, he couldn’t think. He only wished doing to her everything he ever wished with a female, but he never found one he really liked to do so. The lava goddess Hiniiro was nothing to him in comparison. Lying Rin on the grass, Sesshomaru attempted to partially undress her top. He stared at her eyes, waiting for her consent. She nodded positively. The daiyoukai licked Rin’s neck first. Then he kissed her collarbone and in between her chest. Rin moaned and embraced herself around Sesshomaru's neck, and asked him:

“Will you make me your woman right here? Right now?”

The question made him finally realise what was going on. To mate a female, to make her his, meant she would become his wife. She was not ready for that yet, and neither was him. Sesshomaru had even forgotten the point of their meeting. What was it? Suddenly his warm expression died and he came back to his usual self. 

“I will not. Get properly dressed, Rin”, he ordered, doing the same himself. 

“Yes, Lord Sesshomaru. I am sorry”, Rin couldn’t help it, but to feel guilty. She thought she had done something wrong, again.

“Don’t be”, he said, comforting her. It was time to be objective. “We’re going on a trip tomorrow”.

“What?!”

“We will be visiting Totosai, to commission a weapon for you to use, for protection”, as he explained, he got up and offered his hand to Rin. “Be ready tomorrow morning”.

“Yes, my lord!”, agreed Rin, excited about the travel.

Sesshomaru sensed someone approaching. It was the priestess. She was back from the other side of the well. That was his queue to leave. Rin kissed him goodbye before he went off. What a day that was! And more was about to come, because Kagome had some wonderful news to share with her partner and her friends. Still dressed in futuristic clothing, the woman approached. She figured that Sesshomaru was walking away in a slow pace, Rin’s hair was rather messy, and her lips swollen from so much kissing.  
“You two were at it and I spoiled it, right?”, Rin blushed, and Kagome laughed. “Ah, ha! I knew it... He acts so tough, but deep inside he’s all soft”.

“I wouldn’t say soft, but burning up instead. He wants me so much, but keep putting these rules and tests in the way, like he’s struggling against his own feelings”, confessed Rin, in search of some light. 

“You go, girl!”, joked Kagome. She couldn’t help it, she was happy. “That’s understandable. By dating you, he’s going against many things he was convicted of for thousands of years”.

Rin thought it was suspicious, that sudden, uncontrollable happiness. 

“Are you alright, Kagome? Why are you smiling so much?”

“I didn’t want to spill the beans so easily, but as I need your help for tonight, I will tell you right away”, she paused and cleared her throat. “I am pregnant, surprise!”

Rin covered her mouth and screamed like that. She hugged Kagome tightly, but soon released her, afraid she was squeezing her belly. Her excitement only made the priestess laugh and become happier. 

“Consider yourself an aunt, Rin. Now, let me explain you my plan!”.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
There was a discreet celebration at night at the home of the monk and his demon slayer wife. They were completing 11 years of marriage. The ceremony was nothing extravagant, recalled Inuyasha and Rin. Buddhist weddings were not performed by religious authorities of any kind, but they gave the couple their blessings. Being a monk himself, Miroku joked that he was going to bless Sango everyday of his life with his presence. Other than that, Miroku gave her his ring, and they paraded around the village followed by musicians, who followed them and played happy songs, to announce their marriage to everyone. The house where they, their kids, Inuyasha, and Rin lived in were built by the couple and the hanyou themselves. A second floor was needed afterwards, because more kids came along as the years went by. The home kept expanding. The upper rooms were then all dedicated to accommodate the children. 

The first part of Kagome’s plan to tell Inuyasha of her pregnancy was setting the mood. Rin got her acoustic guitar and started playing lullabies and songs that usually mothers sang to their babies. Sango sang along with the harmony, looking at the face of her newborn boy, Batsunan. He fell asleep to it and everybody smiled. Inuyasha himself was feeling a bit sad. He recalled of his mother, of course. Missing Kagome’s presence, and willing break the emo atmosphere, he spoke:

“Kagome’s sure taking long to come back from her spiritual services”, he sighed, before placing a piece of fish above the weak and controlled fire. “She instructed me to cook her fish if she took long”.

“What’s wrong with the raw fish, Lord Inuyasha?”, asked Rin, respectful as always. She intended to make him think about it. He seemed confused.

“How will I know?! Kagome kept blabbering to me how sick she has been feeling, and that from now on she should not eat any raw meat”.

Miroku and Sango stared at each other. Then they stared at Rin. They knew she knew something that they didn’t know yet.

“Has Kagome been feeling sick for too many days?”, asked the monk, out of curiosity.

“I wasn’t there to get any details, remember? She only mentioned it… Do you think there’s something wrong with her?”, Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, kind of worried.

“No… Not at all. Rest assure, Inuyasha”, answered Miroku, still suspicious.

Not long after their conversation, Kagome arrived. She didn’t look different or anything. She was wearing her priestess costume, had her hair done to look like one… Her white chihaya was and red hakama were clean as they could be. The only things different about Kagome that evening was that she was smiling a lot, like Rin, and upon her clothes, she wore a white silky obi, with the tie done on the front, covering her abdomen. At first, Sango thought she mistakenly wore it that way, and offered to help fixing it. She gave Miroku her child to hold and stood up.

“Kagome, honey. You look beautiful with the obi, but let me tie it against your back, that’s how we, women, usually wear it”, Sango stopped breathing momentaneously when Kagome stopped her hand.

“Usually, you say”, winked Kagome.

Sango got to touch the material of the obi. It was silk. As she had been a mother several times, she too kept a silky white obi herself, but she only wore it the first two times she got pregnant, because it was very exciting news to her and the village.  
“Oh…”, she uttered, still completing the reasoning. “Oh…! Kagome!”, she led her hands to her face, as she understood what Kagome meant. She looked at Miroku and Inuyasha, but they remained clueless and puzzled.

“What’s going on, Sango? Why are you so happy over a stupid obi? And why are you wearing an obi in first place, Kagome? It doesn’t make sense!”, Inuyasha’s stupidity got on Kagome’s nerves, that was supersensitive, due to her state.

“Inuyasha, why are you so dumb???!!!”, yelled Kagome, accidentally waking up little Batsunan and bringing the attention from the older kids, who came down from their bedroom to spy on the adults. “The white silk obi, not eating raw fish, being sick… Doesn’t that ring a bell?”

Inuyasha looked over at Sango. She was trying to calm her baby again. The baby. And his older siblings were staring at him. Slowly, Inuyasha remembered how Sango became different whenever she had a baby. She got moody, nauseous, and for a few time she wore an obi just like Kagome’s. Sango also had to eat very healthy food and avoided raw meat. Talking about meat, Kagome’s fish was over cooking. The baby. Was there something about a baby that Kagome was trying to tell? Could it be that Kagome was… 

“Kagome, are you pregnant?”, he finally asked, not really sure if that was it.

Rin, Miroku, Sango, and the priestess herself sighed out loud, relieved. The twins, Tayouchu, and Ikko giggled, sitting on the stairs. As Inuyasha approached his dear Kagome, the woman lost her voice, and confirmed his question with a nod, as tears emerged. The hanyou hugged her tight, in that way that only he knew how to hold her. They kissed several times. Rin smiled at them. Deep inside she couldn’t stop imagining herself in Kagome’s place. Sesshomaru would never react so positively. He wouldn’t accept a hanyou as a son or daughter. He would never make that mistake. Rin could only picture Sesshomaru and herself childless. She had a momentaneous paranoia that he only said that she would have a family to protect to win her back.

“Too bad Kohaku and Shippou aren’t here. They would love to hear the news!”, commented Sango, thinking of them. She had sent them away to investigate the recent reports of a demon slayer tribe killing innocent youkai for sport.

That new information alarmed Rin. She was going to travel the following day with Sesshomaru. And that tribe could represent danger to them. She had to let them know of her journey, something no one was expecting.

“I’ll be leaving with Lord Sesshomaru tomorrow”, she simply said. 

“WHAT?”, everybody asked, in awe.

“We’ll be after Totosai. He will forge me a weapon so I can defend myself”.

“But, Rin, we can defend you! Sesshomaru knows we can!”, protested Inuyasha.

“Also, you lack fighting skills, it will take more than a weapon to give you what it takes”, completed Miroku.

“Don’t you guys should cheer her up instead?”, Kagome didn’t approve their words. “If I, a clueless girl from another era, learned how to shoot an arrow, I am sure Rin will learn how to fight. She will have the best teacher too”.

“Thank you, Kagome”, Rin bowed to her. Those eyes of doubt towards her only made her more obstinate. She was going to prove them she was able. She was going to make Lord Sesshomaru proud.

The next day, Rin was up early. Sango assisted her in packing a bag of fresh fruits to eat on the way, to save her to work of fetching food early on the trip. Apart from that Rin took one spare kimono, in case that one ripped, and of course, she wouldn’t forget her guitar. She needed something to pass the time.

“Be careful”, told Sango. “And if you happen to meet Kohaku on the way… Tell him I miss him”. 

“I sure will”, Rin hugged the woman tightly, and then her children, and Miroku. Before saying goodbye to Inuyasha and Kagome, she hesitated a little. She wanted to say something important to them, but couldn’t find the right words. She didn’t want to miss the priestess’s pregnancy. As an aunt and midwife, she wanted to be there, help her. Sesshomaru appeared from afar, and called her name.

“Rin, it’s time to go”, it sounded almost like an order.

“Just a minute, my lord”, responded Rin, a bit ashamed. Inuyasha got impulsive, grabbed Rin and turned her around.

“Just go, would ya? We appreciate it that you care”, he pushed her forward. Sesshomaru looked annoyed at his half brother, as if he was trying to say ‘do not touch her’.

“I know she will be alright. With Sesshomaru, of course she will”, thought Kagome, as she and Inuyasha observed her going away with her troupe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I made you wait, I am so sorry... But please leave a comment if you think I deserve it. I always like some feedback on grammar, is the lore good enough or not, what are your expectations? Do you think I am making a mistake by making this fic too big?
> 
> Thank you for sticking with me until this point.


	20. The new demon slayers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin's first night out in the wild with Jaken and Sesshomaru. The story of Shiho, the linnorm youkai. Kohaku and Shippou have an unexpected encounter with the new demon slayers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've trying to finish this chapter since forever. Still trying to adapt my time to write with the time I have to study and do things college related. Please forgive me for any silly mistake, I didn't spend so much time editing and correcting this time.

It was just like in the past. Sesshomaru walked ahead, followed closely by Jaken, who pulled Ah-Un by the leash, and Rin distractedly catched up with them every couple of minutes, careful not to be left behind. That travel was promised to feel nostalgic, yet full of surprises. Rin grew up. She has changed, and the way Sesshomaru sees her has changed as well. That trip was going to decide their fate as a couple. During the first night, when the bonfire was lit and they sat down to share the heat of the flames, Rin poked him with those complicate adult questions and comments of hers.

“Lord Sesshomaru, have you heard the news?”

“What news?”, he raised an eyebrow.

“Lord Inuyasha and Kagome are expecting a baby”, it was obvious that the topic touched a soft spot in her.

“Is that so?”, he didn’t sound or seemed surprised.

“That was to be expected”, Jaken stepped in. “They’ve been together for such long time. I wonder how come it didn’t happen before!”, the imp scratched his chin.

“That, Master Jaken, is because women from Kagome’s time can decide whether and when they will have babies”, explained Rin. Jaken was almost scared, and Sesshomaru turned his head to her direction. That was something he had never heard of. “It’s not a magic trick. People have invented all sorts of remedies and objects that keep women from getting pregnant for as long as they choose”.

Jaken kept asking her embarrassing things until they fell asleep. Sesshomaru could not help but to wonder if Rin had ever make use of those remedies she said. She had spent a lot of time on the other side of the well to learn what’s good and what’s bad about that world. The habits of the future were so inadequate to his view. He was totally against the lifestyle that Inuyasha and his priestess partner took. His old values once more pressed that same button. Before, marriage consisted only in one simple rule: if a male and female are seen together at night for three nights, they were officially husband and wife. But who was he to criticise? He mated with Hiniiro only to obtain new powers.

The different youkai tribes and also humans had adapted the idea of marriage to their own cultures. To the Inuyoukai clan, usually, the husband built a little house far away from villages and populated places, where the couple would not be disturbed, with the sole purpose of consuming their union. They should come back the day after the said three nights, and only then they were to be considered married. The wife was announced to be pregnant with their first child normally a few weeks after. 

Sesshomaru didn’t sleep. When it’s only he and Jaken they sometimes manage to travel even at night, but, because of Rin, they had to slow down. It was easier when she fit entirely on Ah-Un's back, but she has grown too taller to lie down comfortably on his saddle. Even though he tried not showing it, he was a little concerned. The rain season was coming. If they take too long to reach Totosai and fetch Seijin, they will have to face a lot of rainy days and stormy nights in the way back. Rin was up in the middle of night, thirsty. She was only going to drink some water from her canteen, and spotted Sesshomaru with his eyes open, staring at the sky.

“Still awake, my lord?”

“Tiredness doesn’t get to me often”, he replied.

“Before I go back to sleep, may I ask you one more thing?”, she’d been thinking about it the whole day, afraid of bothering him, but willing to test him, the same way he was willing to test her.

“Ask away”, he didn’t take his gaze from the stars above.

“How do you feel about Inuyasha being the one to give your father his first grandchild?”, she knew the story. She was aware that Inu no Taisho was no more, but she was a witness of his importance, when Takemaru of Setsuna kidnapped Kagome and she.

“I don’t care. It’s their lives”, he lied. He would feel bitter if what Rin said was true, but it was not. Inu no Taisho’s first grandchild was Seijin, born six years before. He was soon going to be presented to Rin. Jaken discreetly spied on their talk, and he was sweating. The safety of that secret lied in his hands. He would never say a word about it, unless Lord Sesshomaru allowed him to do so.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
A strange looking and young youkai was speeding away from danger. She had two long curved back horns, and her upper body was humanoid and the lower body was elongated and snake like, covered with dark blue scales. The female demon was, in fact, trying to escape from the grasp of demon slayers that had settled in that region. She had done anything. Unfortunately, she fell under one of those hunter’s traps. A net emerged and lifted her from the ground. In the air, far from the safety of the land, the linnorm youkai was nothing. The net entangled in her horns and hands. It was only a question of minutes until they found her and captured her, so he closed her eyes and waited.

The peculiar demon sensed something heavy walking on one of the ropes that help the net up. She took a glimpse of what or who was upon it, and found out it was a little fox youkai, that screamed and was taken aback when she moved.

“Aaaah!! I thought you were dead!”

Conformed with her destiny, she didn’t think it was a problem sharing a few words, and warning the little one, of course.

“Not yet, but soon. And you also will be, if you stay”.

Shippou recognised then, with his instincts that this linnorm youkai was peaceful, and probably into trouble. 

“Do you need help getting out of here? Is there someone coming after you?” 

“I would be eternally thankful if you could help me!”, she sibilated loudly, through her pointy teeth and forked tongue.

“Alright! I will save you!”, Shippou grinned with pride and wit and tiptoed back to one of the trees that secured the rope. “Foxfire!”, he shouted, and blue flames sprouted from his palm, burning the rope and destroying the trap.

Clueless about the incident, Kohaku, spotted Shippo climbed in the tree, using one of his attacks. He stood still right below the trap, and asked his friend:

“Shippou, what’s going on?”

“Kohaku, look out!”, the fox demon tried warning him, but too late. The mass of meat and scales fell on him. Shippou jumped back to where the youkai and Kohaku were, super worried. “Oh, no! You killed him!”

Using her own tail to fish Kohaku from under her body, the linnorm removed him safely, holding him upside down, from his ankle. “He’s fine, nothing’s broken”, she said.

Kohaku rolled and got on his feet again. “Uh, thanks”, he said, smiling. The female demon hissed when she saw the weapon he was carrying on his back, that she hadn’t noticed before.

“Are you a demon slayer? Are you from the people that’s been hunting me?”, she became rather aggressive, but Kohaku and Shippou remained calm.

“No, no, no. We’re just travelers. We are by ourselves! I swear!”, Kohaku tried to avoid conflict, but he was amazed and surprised to hear that. “Did you say there are demon slayers around here? Where are they?”

“I’m not gonna stay to show you, see it for yourself!”, She started moving again, hurrying to escape.

“Wait, miss, what’s your name?”, Shippou asked her, before she left.

“It’s Shiho, from the linnorm youkai clan. Thank you, Shippou, for saving my skin!”, she blinked at him, and it seemed like her tangerine eyes sparkled. He was very proud, to be responsible for saving a life that day.

The increasing population of the recently formed demon tribe had, at first, occupied the region where Kouga and his clan lived, forcing them to move. While expanding their territory, they encountered a small group from the linnorm demon clan. The main figure of those youkai was the swordsmith Rasawa, a huge dark scaled figure, with horns three times longer and thicker than Shiho’s. He was the one who forged Seijin’s bracelets, and Shiho was his pupil at the time Sesshomaru had come and commissioned them. Rasawa was killed trying to defend his kin, and Shiho was the only one who escaped alive.

Only a couple minutes after the encounter with that reptile demon, a group of four men, dressed with the almost same uniform Kohaku did when ready for a battle showed up, armed to their teeth. They surrounded the two travelers, and took their belongings for a search.

“Who are you?”, they asked. “What are you doing here? Have you seen the horned snake demon around here? Why do you travel with a youkai?”

“He’s a demon slayer!”, announced the one that was taking a look in his bag. He had found his uniform, gas bombs, mask, and sorts of objects they also had. “How come we haven’t crossed ways before? We’ve never seen you in our village!”

“That’s because I am not from your village”, Kohaku answered. He was intrigued just as much as they were about him. “My village was destroyed and my people were slain by thousands of demons about 10 years ago. All original demon slayers were killed. Only my sister and I were left from the massacre”.

The men looked at each other in amazement, as if his story was familiar to them.   
“Come with us, please. We shall not harm you or this little demon that accompanies you”, another of their man promised. Kohaku and Shippou were being taken to their village, that was an almost exact same copy of the original one, that was once his home, before Naraku came and cursed the lives of his family and his people.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The leader of the rising demon slayer village was as young as Kohaku. She was short, but gracious, tough, and strong. Patriarchs and even older warriors were afraid of defying her. She deserved to be the leader because she was, after all, the one who taught everybody how to craft demon slaying weapons, a knowledge she had with her since childhood. What made her different and more skillful than many others was her fighting technique, that combined ninja moves with weapon wielding. Her name was Suzuna, and she was originally part of the ninja tribe. Ten years before, she and her older sister, Serina, were trying to steal weapons from the ruins of the old demon slayer village, but were stopped by a hoard of evil youkai and convinced by Sango not to do so. 

Serina followed Sango’s advice to the core. She never touched a weapon again, and never fought unless it was extremely necessary. She wasn’t near as talented as Suzuna, and she knew that. The younger one didn’t change much, because she saw much more death until Naraku was finally destroyed. She kept practicing and fighting even after that, because she thought that was she did best. Serina had gotten married to a potter called Yuto, and left, leaving her sister to be the new leader. Suzuna wasn’t thinking about getting marry at all.

Suzuna’s men brought in Kohaku and Shippou. 

“Lady Suzuna, the demon has escaped. We found these two near one of the traps and it looks like they helped freeing the creature”, one of them said. “We searched his belongings and he carried demon slaying weapons and uniform”.

Suzuna raised an eyebrow and turned to look at them. Who did they think they were? She was wearing a demon slayer uniform, even though she didn’t have to, but she like showing off who she was, demonstrate her power. She thought it was strange, that young man. His face looked pretty much familiar, as if he was related to someone she knew, a long time before.

“Leave us”, she ordered. Kohaku kneeled in her respect, and Shippou copied. “Who are you?”, she asked, directly.

“I am Kohaku, one of the only survivors of the original demon slayer village. It’s an honor to meet you. Your village looks very prosperous”.

“And I am Shippou, the fox demon… But I am not evil, okay?”, his voice trembled.   
Suzuna wasn’t bothered by his presence, although she had to admit she didn’t understand how could a demon slayer protect demons. His job was to kill them, not befriend them. “I thought Sango was the last one. I didn’t know she had a brother. Please, I would be delighted if you stayed for a few days, to share your stories and your techniques! And tell us why did you free that filthy youkai…”.

Kohaku accepted her offer. Shippou was afraid of Suzuna. They were not stupid, they have heard about that demon slayer village before. Kouga has told his side of the story to Kagome and Inuyasha, who passed it to them, once they came back from their quest, delivering Rin’s letter to Sesshomaru. The little time Shippou had to talk to Shiho was the proof they needed to see how out of control the situation was. There was no need to expel and kill youkai who haven’t done anything to harm humans. Suzuna hateful speech and life philosophy didn’t seem like herself. Kohaku didn’t know her very well, but he could feel it. He expected to learn more of how the new village came to be, and who else was behind it’s creation and atrocities against innocent youkai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I am opening up the plot and expanding the horizons, but everything will fall into place, and these characters will have a conflict of some sort further on. How did you like Shiho, my new OC? And it was a blessing that I rewatched Inuyasha... I was maturing my idea about the new demon slayer village and after I watched that episode with the sisters I thought they would fit nicely in here. I really liked them, in the anime, too bad they were just filler characters... But not in this fic!


	21. Partial Eclipse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin spends a day by herself at a village, playing music. Sesshomaru allows her to have more intimate contact with him, bringing them closer as a couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People that are still interested in this crap. I have rewritten this goddamn chapter so many times I feel stupid to call this a crap heheh! I think genuinely that this is the best chapter I've written in a long time. Usually I am very objective with the narrative, leaving few space for brainstorming, poetry-like sentences... But as I wrote Sesshomaru and his deep difficult character I've been learning how to do that, because Sesshomaru requires that. 
> 
> Also, I've written slash porn for two years straight and I had no idea how to make a hot scene stay hot but not too explicit. It was so hard you can't imagine how many times I rewrote the same part. I think I've never worked so hard in a fanfiction ever. I will stop by here before I say anything idiot.
> 
> enjoy your reading I hope this is what you expected from me.

They were not very distant from where Totosai lived. Rin could already see some streams of smoke behind the trees of a forest ahead, and she could smell burnt soil from there already. The young woman should make the best use of the environment she could, because once they walked in the scoulding, volcanic region where the swordsmith resided, there would be no water, and no food, for at least one whole day. Their travel was delayed again after Rin got her period. 

“If you really want to stay with me, you have to put up with me every time this happens”, she often said to her lord.

She required more time to rest because of pain, and stay close to the river to wash her clothes and pieces of rag, and also bathe herself. Sesshomaru would be surprised by her mood swings and how her smell changed. He could swear he felt more attracted to her, more interested, just like any other low caliber animals are attracted to their females in heat. Jaken had to keep being corrected, because of his rude comments.

There was only one more populated village ahead, before they entered that dangerous youkai domain. Rin asked to stop by, to purchase supplies. Sesshomaru hesitated. They had been hunting, fishing, and collecting fruit along the way, and almost never needed any favor from someone. Besides, it was better not be exposed to humans who wouldn’t understand the implications of his presence. That could cause some trouble to them. Sesshomaru didn’t want to sound too dictatorial, but had to tell his lover:

“Rin, this delay is unnecessary. We can obtain food ourselves”.

“I know we can, but not where Totosai lives. There’s not water there”, she answered, in her typical cheerful tone. She didn’t sound as happy when she was bleeding, as observed by the demon lord. “So, if you do not wish to go the village with me, may I go by myself?”

“You don’t need permission to go anywhere, Rin”, he prefered not maintain eye contact, which disappointed Rin a bit. He hadn’t kissed her or touched her since that afternoon at the flower field, a couple of weeks before. One thing she couldn’t complain though, is that he always gave her freedom to choose. 

Rin didn’t have any money to pay for food and canteens to save water, but she had her guitar, and thought she could trade some entertainment for something. Her sudden presence, holding that strange instrument surely called the attention of the villagers. One elder, who identified himself as Kato, asked her who she was and what business she had there. Kato was not naturally rude, but he knew his village bordered demon’s domains, so he was always careful about strangers. 

“I am just a traveler in need of supplies to continue on my journey, that’s why I want to offer my services. And don’t worry, I am human”, her kind voice eased Kato’s tension.

“What is your name? And what are the services you have to offer?”, Kato got a little nearer.

“My name is Rin, and I am a musician. I would like to play music to entertain your families in exchange for food and a water container”.

Kato’s wife overheard the whole conversation and got tired of his rudeness. She was alright, she meant no harm. She was invited for a cup of tea at their house. Above all, Natsumi was worried that Rin had been traveling all alone.

“Are you not afraid to wander off by yourself in these lands? There are some dangerous demons out there”, the elder lady asked, preoccupied.

“Sometimes I am afraid, but I know how to take care of myself”, she smiled confidently at them. They didn’t know she had someone to protect her, and her protector was the most dangerous demon out there, for sure.

“Such a brave young woman, heh. Girls these days… They are becoming stronger than many men I know”, commented Kato. “Well, could you play some music to us? So I make sure you are what you say you are, after all”.

As a musician trained by an orchestra, Rin had learned many traditional japanese lullabies, and because she lived in the future, she also could play a large catalogue of modern songs, that didn’t exist in that ancient time. Kato was pleased. Rin was very skillful, and also had a beautiful singing voice. She spent the day going from home to home, performing her songs. Rin missed that. Having a public to watch her play and appreciate her talent. Sesshomaru never showed interest for that. He would rather her to learn to fight than to play music. If Sesshomaru didn’t see the worth of her skill, she would find someone that did, like those villagers. By the end of the day, dozens of people followed her around, thanking her for bringing a day of joy to their lives. They compensated her with what she desired. Rin left carrying a reasonable amount of meals and a water canteen large enough not to let her dehydrate. Ah-Un, Jaken, and Sesshomaru were strong enough to bare a day without it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Evening was starting to settle. As usual, Jaken lit the bonfire, while Ah-Un sat around it and Sesshomaru prefered to rest against a tree. He wasn’t tired, but bored. If he said he didn’t miss all those fights during the Naraku era, he would be lying. Thinking back, the only times when Sesshomaru genuinely smiled were when he smelled danger. He felt pleasure tearing his enemies apart. Now his world was centered on Rin. He drawn happiness from her company, and wished to drawn pleasure as well, but it still wasn’t the right time. He was afraid to lose control if he kissed her again, touched her again. 

“Lord Sesshomaru, I wonder how long will it take for Rin to come back! Do you think she will spend the night at the village?”, Jaken was restless, worried about her.

“Her scent is becoming stronger. She’s near”, said the Lord of the West. He sounded relieved. Deep inside, he worried too.

Ah-Un lifted both heads and roared excitedly, greeting the young woman that returned. Rin was so proud of herself, as she put down everything she earned. She was tired, sweating, but satisfied. Nothing like a day of work. Jaken cried when finally hugged her leg.

“Rin! I thought something bad had happened to you!”

“Oh, Jaken, your concern makes me happy”, she thanked and then bent in respect for Sesshomaru. “My Lord”.

He remained where he was, but showed interest in her prizes. “I’m glad you earned something from your own effort”. He would never guess such useless talent as music would contribute to something important as survival. Rin wanted to prove him her skills had value, and this time she made it. 

“I’m not so useless now, am I?”, she provoked. “I bet you missed me too”.

“Hunf”, voiced the youkai, pretending. 

“He really did, Rin”, whispered Jaken, that hid behind her when he heard Sesshomaru snarling.

Rin giggled at Jaken, but looked saddened at Sesshomaru. She thought they were past that phase already. Rin wanted to kiss him so bad, wanted him to hold her tight, feel his warmth. It was obvious he was suppressing his desire for her - while Rin’s desire for him was eating her alive. She had to do something about it, find out why he was so distant, because that didn’t look like a relationship. 

Rin’s favourite sleeping spot was still next to Ah-Un. He failed to keep her warm, because he was a reptile, but his breathing was soothing and help her sleep through the uncomfortable situation of staying in the open like that. The first nights when she joined the group of demons she was very surprised, anxious, but never afraid. Sesshomaru taught her the names for everything, and how to hide from enemies. The voice she lost after the murder of her family she had found again with him. She remember his complexion was neutral, cold, indecipherable, but she learned how to see through it. Sesshomaru was different now. His face and body spoke just as loud and clear as his words. He was avoiding Rin, as if he was too afraid of the effect he had on her.

The demon lord’s ears twitched to the sound of a stick breaking when stepped upon. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know that it was Rin, and she was sneaking around, trying to approach him without waking him up. It was futile, but he’d better make her believe it was working. She kneeled by his side and gently pulled a sleeve of his kimono, while calling his name in low volume:

“Lord Sesshomaru… Lord Sesshomaru, I’m cold”, her voice was shaky. She was not lying, but it was just the perfect opportunity for her.

“Can’t Ah-Un warm you up?”, he asked right away.

“Ah-Un’s blood runs cold, my lord”, she crawled closer. “May I sleep next to you?”

“Get under my right arm, Rin”, he invited.

She didn’t waste time and buried herself within him, while he placed a large part of his fur around her. Rin could feel the beat of his heart against his chest. The sweet sound that began everything. She hummed in relaxation and relief and Sesshomaru got even warmer than he already was.

“I wish we stayed like this forever”, she stated.

“You know that’s impossible”, he responded.

“I do know, but I will believe… For one night… This moment is eternal”. 

With that sentence, Rin threw herself in Sesshomaru’s arms. They kissed with so much intensity, it seemed like those few weeks lacking intimacy were years instead. Rin was surprisingly good at what she was doing, sucking his lips and fishing for his tongue with vehemence. Sesshomaru was taken away with her actions, and held tightly to her hips and back, tracing her slim shape with his huge bony hands. He didn’t know much about making out, but followed the signs to do whatever he thought would please Rin: squeezing her flesh, giving little bites on her shoulder, he only didn’t want it to end in sex - but Rin seemed to think the opposite. She longed for her lord, she wanted him more than closer, she wanted him inside her, so she whispered in Sesshomaru’s ear.

“Do me… My Lord… Please…”, she begged, as if she knew exactly what to be expected, to the demon’s surprise. What kind of thing has she learned in the other side of the well besides nursery and music?

“Not tonight, not before you have fulfilled your part of the agreement”, excited as he was, it was difficult, but necessary to refuse. 

“Lord Sesshomaru…”, again Rin rested on his chest, but now her whole self was against him. “I can’t wait any longer. If I can’t love you with my body, I shall love you with my hands and my mouth”.

While Sesshomaru was left pondering about what she meant by that, Rin slowly made her move down on him. No one has ever dared to do that to Sesshomaru. The woman partially undressed him, and looked up, waiting for his approval. He had denied her so much by then, he couldn’t deny her that. She wanted him so much, that anyway should do, having or giving pleasure. It was the very first time Sesshomaru had fellatio, but he had his doubts if it was the first time Rin had ever given it. To hear him breathing strongly, struggling to keep his moans to himself, meant the world for the young woman. His doubts about his human lover soon didn’t matter. For the first time there was nothing in Sesshomaru’s head. Not one thought, not a single dreamy reflexion to make.

The inuyoukai growled uncontrollably loud when he climaxed, causing Jaken to rouse fully alerted, holding his staff of two heads in position of attack.

“What’s going on, milord? Where is the danger? What is Rin doing?”

LASH!

Glowing green lines rushed towards the imp in less than a second, wrapping around his minuscule ankles. 

“Forgive me, milord, I promise I didn’t see anything! Lord Sesshomaruuuuuuu…!”, Jaken cried, as he was tossed 300 feet away from the bonfire.

Rin felt bad for what happened to Jaken. It wasn’t his fault. A camp in the wild wasn’t exactly a place private enough for what the couple had just experienced. That was a night to be remembered. The night Sesshomaru accepted Rin’s love, and had her under his wings, and he swore never to let go. The moon was enamored with the sun. They shone exquisitely, like in a partial eclipse, when the magnificent star adopts the shape of the crescent towards the end of the phenomenon. This crescent was not made from a cold, blood thirsty mark - it was made from the rays of the same sun, saving the lonely satellite from its gelid demise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would be delighted if you commented on whether have I improved in comparison to other chapter or not, how much did you like or hated this one, whatever you wanna say, I will be all ears.
> 
> I am also trying very hard to make justice to women in Inuyasha series which I think they didn't have in the anime. Like, all girls who were strong ended up married and chained to domestic duties. There is nothing wrong with that as long as they like what they're doing and feel good doing it, but I don't think it has to be a pattern. Women can have jobs at the most variable areas, have freedom to go where they want to... I just wanted to bring this element to my fic to make it more serious, yes more mature in this sense. This is a story about adults figuring out their lives. It mirrors my view on things, and what I believe in.
> 
> I hope you are excited to the next chapter as much as I am too.  
> See ya there.  
> Peace.


	22. A triple encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The linnorm youkai finds Totosai, and so does Sesshomaru, with Rin and Jaken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, it's been two effing months since I last posted, but I wouldn't post a shitty chapter just to keep on going. I have a slow timing, but when inspiration comes, it is for good!

Rin rose covered by Sesshomaru’s kimono. He was already up by then, and there was some food ready, served on a large, curve, and thick leaf of some plant. Roasted fish, along with some wild fruits. She looked up, in hopes to measure what time of the day it was. The voice of her loved one echoed from his shirtless and cross-legged sitting figure, a few steps distant from her. 

“It’s late already”, he said, serious. “Eat as much as you can. There won’t be anything else for the rest of the day”. 

“Alright”, she agreed, approaching her meal. “And where’s Jaken?”

“I’ve sent Ah-Un after him”.

Rin smiled. She knew he cared about that little imp as much as he cared about her. Sesshomaru waited while she ate. He was satisfied that Rin didn’t make questions on how glad she was the he prepared her breakfast, he didn’t want that to become a habit. Rin interpreted it as a reward for what she did the night before. It would be more typical of him, but she would never know, perhaps. As they moved along and continued on their journey, Rin kept yawning, even though she was not tired at all. The youkai lord, who was walking by her side, glanced and observed. 

“Haven’t you rested during the night?”, Sesshomaru asked, having flashbacks of their actions, on the point of blushing.

“Oh, I did rest, my Lord. I slept quite deeply”, Rin turned her face to him, smiling, as usual. “And yourself? You got up too early, I believe”.

“I slept enough”, he responded, now looking ahead.

Little by little the vegetation turned yellow and dried, until the soil became darker and cracked. A haze made of dark dirty steam surrounded the area. No human ventured Totosai’s residence, for they feared its demonic aura. Because of the volcanic conditions it was, of course, dangerous for Rin to go there. She couldn’t simply walk with her bare feet. Only youkai could resist the heat of the ground. Both Sesshomaru and Rin waited for Ah-Un to finally arrive with Jaken, found lost somewhere. He was shaken and sad Sesshomaru sent him away, and he even couldn’t recall the reason, which was a good thing. 

“Lord Sesshomaru! Rin! I am so happy to see you again!”, he grabbed his master’s leg and rubbed his face on it, and then did the same on Rin’s arm. “Totosai’s house is this way!”, he reminded.

Rin climbed on Ah-Un, and the beast led her through the region, alongside with her companions. She wasn’t afraid, and Sesshomaru noticed that. It was pointless to ask her. He only warned one last thing before they continued:

“Do not leave Ah-Un’s saddle, unless I say so. You can burn your feet”.

“Understood”, she answered, objective, and then they entered that strange and intense ambience.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Before Sesshomaru and Rin even approached the edge of that place, someone reached Totosai early, just after dawn. It was the female linnorm youkai that Shippou freed a few days before. Shiho had been on a quest, in search for Totosai. Since her master was murdered, the only thing left for her to pursue as a swordsmith apprentice was a new tutor. And without a doubt, Totosai was the one. She creeped and crawled with her snake-like body along the volcanic rocks beneath her. It was quite uncomfortable, but yet she managed. There was vapor and sounds of smashing steel coming from the insides of a enormous demon skull. Shiho knew she was in the right place. The old forgetful youkai felt her presence.

“Who is it there?”, he asked, taking a pause on the weapon he was working on.

“It is Shiho, from the linnorm youkai tribe”, she exposed herself, entering his home in a humble way. “I am the former apprentice of your friend, Rasawa”.

“Rasawa, you said? Uh…”, he scratched his head, having a hard time to remember. “Oh yes!! What happened to him? I haven’t seen Rasawa in decades!”

Shiho took a deep sad breath. “My master was murdered by demon slayers, as well as many other members of my tribe. I came here in hopes that you could be my new master. I want to work as a swordsmith”.

Totosai had a bad experience the last time he took an apprentice to learn how to craft weapons. Kaijinbo betrayed him, and had turned to evil, serving only youkai lords with devilish objectives in mind. The old demon took a good look at Shiho. She was young, good spirited, and strong. She could have a potential as a weapon crafter, but he swore never to tutor again, and had never broken that promise, after Kaijinbo was sent away. Shiho’s dark blue scales shone with the light of the firecamp inside Totosai’s shelter. 

“I am sad to hear Rasawa has passed, young lady. I am also honored that you wish me to be your new master, but the answer is… No!”

As disappointment filled Shiho’s senses, a small group of strange silhouettes gathered closer to the swordsmith’s hideout. Both Totosai and Shiho felt an overwhelming demonic aura, as they approached. Totosai started shaking, and had a subtle change of mind towards the linnorm youkai who was there with him.

“Shiho, right?”, he recalled, with trembling voice. “I will let you be my student if you prevent that monster from killing me”, he pointed ahead, revealing the majestic figure of Sesshomaru and his little servant, Jaken.

Shiho knew who he was, and she wasn’t scared. Sesshomaru, on the other hand, was a little surprised to see her there. He didn’t know wether had Jaken told her and Rasawa about his son, Seijin, but it was pretty obvious to them, he reckoned. 

“Totosai”, greeted Sesshomaru, almost in a whisper. He quickly checked if Ah-Un was behind him. Then he nodded at Shiho, but didn’t say her name, because he never got to acknowledge it.

“Lord Sesshomaru”, Shiho, bowed to him, surprising Totosai.

“YOU KNOW HIM?”, it didn’t help with the fact that he was very scared, still. Now he knew that the rumours were true. Sesshomaru had commissioned a weapon from another swordsmith, and the puzzle was solved. It was Rasawa who did the service. Totosai was scared and now feeling betrayed at the same time. 

“I’m here to commission a sword”, he announced. “The terms are to be discussed”.

“I won’t do it!”, Totosai protested. “I know you asked Rasawa to craft you something, instead of me! You just came here because he’s dead. You are an ungrateful and despicable demon!”, Totosai hid behind Shiho. 

Sesshomaru, grunted. He didn’t know Rasawa was dead, but he feared his secret was in danger of being revealed before he planned, because of Shiho. Jaken took a step forward, already furious, and careless about the consequences. Meanwhile, Rin finally made it there, with Ah-Un beside her. Nobody noticed her because of the tension settled there. 

“I bet you told him everything, didn’t you?”, the imp poked the linnorm demon with his staff. “You’d better not have told the whole country that Lord Sesshomaru commissioned a pair of bracelets for his son, who he keeps as secret, or he will kill you without a drop of compassion or remorse!” 

The thing was: Shiho hadn’t spilled the beans, but Jaken himself did. Rin wasn’t sure if that was really what she heard and got confused. Totosai’s chin dropped. Shiho hissed at Jaken and defended her side of the story, before Sesshomaru could take any action.

“I did not tell about his son to anyone. I just got here, and in search of a new master. Lord Sesshomaru trusted his secret to me and Rasawa, and I did not break this oath. You did, imp demon”.

Jaken’s face turned pale instantly. “I am going to take a walk, milord”, he said, trying to escape the scene.  
“Jaken. If you flee, I will kill you”, Sesshomaru stepped on him and held him in place. 

Rin only observed. If she knew her lover well, the worst she could do was to interrupt and make a fuss of the situation. She was sure now. They affirmed twice that Sesshomaru had a born son. It made her feel quite uncomfortable. She felt like he had been hiding it on purpose, but it was not advisable to jump into conclusions with the dog lord. He was going to explain himself sooner or later, she thought. And Sesshomaru looked back at her, noticing how unease she was with the news, but he knew she trusted him to answer whatever questions she had. That was just not the right time. 

“Totosai. Will you commission a new sword as I ask? I would hate to be more insistent”, he spoke, ironical, clicking his claws, and chuckling lowly.

“You already have two of most powerful swords in the realm! I refuse to give you any more power!”

“Did I say it was for me to use?”, Sesshomaru ascertained, and then called his human companion to come closer. “Rin, come here”.

She shyly crawled down from Ah-Un, and presented herself to Shiho, and to Totosai, who she knew since a long time. “Hello, lady youkai… Hi, Totosai. You probably won’t remember me, because the last time I saw you I was half of my height, and a silly little girl”.

Totosai was intrigued by her and got closer. “A mortal woman? What is the meaning of this? Rin… The name doesn’t sound strange…”

Rin blushed and carried on explaining. “I used to be Lord Sesshomaru’s ward, back in Naraku times. Now that I’ve grown up, we’re together again, but in a different way, if you know what I mean”.

“Humm… Like father like son, I would say!”, recalled Totosai. “Does Sesshomaru want me to make you a sword? For a weak thing like you to wield? That I can’t do”.

“Why not?”, Sesshomaru snarled, pressing Jaken stronger to the ground. 

“Set me free! I can’t breathe, milord!”, he cried. Sesshomaru let him go.

Shiho had an idea, and prompted to aid Sesshomaru once more. “May I suggest something simpler, yet sufficient? Like a dagger, for example?”

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. He was fond of the idea. Totosai also grew interest in what Shiho planned. The Lord of the West specified his commission: “I wish Rin to possess a weapon that can kill an enemy with a single stroke if her life is in danger. It has to be strong enough to defeat both men and youkai”.

Totosai hummed and spent some time thinking. “I think we can use your fang as material for the blade. You have extraordinary features and powers, Sesshomaru. I fear, though, that Rin will not be able to handle such strong demonic aura. If we could use a part of her as a contrast… Like a strand of hair…”

“Or my blood”, Rin suggested herself, impressing Sesshomaru and Jaken. “I have died twice and I was brought back by once by Tenseiga, and once by the Meidou Stone. It has to be of some value”.

“Indeed it has”, completed Shiho. “You are not just any human, if what you said is true. You walk on the verge of life and death. You have been in the netherworld and have come back”.

Sesshomaru worried. “Are you sure you want to draw your own blood for this, Rin?”

She looked up to him, decided. “Yes, if that’s what it takes”.

Totosai pulled a tooth extractor from nowhere and tried to get near Sesshomaru, who took the instrument rudely from the elder’s hands. Pain was nothing to him, he could do that himself. He did it while looking straight into Rin’s eyes. She cringed, imagining how it must have felt. He tossed the fang and Totosai catched it in the air. 

“Good. Your fang is better than Inuyasha’s”, he reckoned, studying it.

“Of course it is, old fool”, mumbled Jaken, making Rin laugh. 

Shiho assisted Totosai in melting the tooth within the metal in the furnace. The blood had to be added afterwards, when the metal was liquid. Rin had to fill a whole bowl with red vital fluid. It would be hard, and sacrificing, because she was thin, and would become weak from losing that amount. Even though, Rin was brave and wasn’t planning to give up. The female youkai offered a knife to the young woman. She swallowed dry and took the blade in her hands. They were shaking.

“You have to make the cut on your palm or wrist”, said Sesshomaru, holding her hand firmly, so she stopped shaking. “You will be fine”, he assured Rin, taking her other hand too, and helped her making a clean straight cut on her palm. It would take a little longer to fill the bowl, but at least her blood pressure would not drop as quick as it would if she did it on her wrist. 

Rin started to feel nauseous and dizzy towards the end of the process. As soon as Shiho took the full bowl into the hot metal mixture, Totosai brought a torch to burn Rin’s wound, so it would stop bleeding. Rin tried her best not to scream, to prove Sesshomaru she was better than he thought, and although she didn’t know it, he was proud, and fell a little more in love with her because of her courage. Rin wasn’t exactly happy. Losing blood made her weak and hungry. She also needed to have The Talk with Sesshomaru, about that son that Jaken told that his lord had. The inu daiyoukai took his lady his arms, and Jaken humped on Ah-Un’s saddle. They were set to come back in a week. 

Arriving in a green area again, Jaken was sent to buy some human food, Sake, line, and a needle in a nearby village. Those were Rin’s wishes to her recovery. After having a big meal, she cleansed her abused hand palm with the Sake, and stitched herself. Sesshomaru figured she must have learnt that while in nursing school. Few ones had the gut to fix themselves and think through the pain. Unlike him, Rin could feel everything. 

“Let me see it”, asked Sesshomaru, when she was finished. Rin let him look at the cut, now taken care of. He gently held on her fingers and leaned in for a kiss on her lips. She turned the face, quite saddened. “Are you angry, Rin?”, he asked.

“It depends”, she answered soon after. “How old is your son?”

“Six”.

Rin calculated the years in her mind and figured out she was still living in the feudal era when the kid was born. “Why didn’t you tell me back then?”

“I didn’t know about him until the day he was born. You left short after I acknowledged his existence”, he explained. He wouldn’t be able to have such conversation with anyone before.

Rin kept on asking. “Are you still in touch with the mother?”

Sesshomaru looked angsty about talking about Hiniiro. “She is not of my concern. She used to beat him up”.

“I am sorry to hear that”, Rin really meant it. “Am I going to meet him someday?”

“Yes, Rin, you will”, he sighed. “I would like you to be his new mother”.

Rin froze in her spot. “What? Lord Sesshomaru… This is… I feel flattered that you’re asking me this”, she thanked, and placed her good hand on Sesshomaru’s shoulder. “But I don’t know if I’m ready. I am too young to be a mother…”

“I think you are more than ready, Rin”, he admitted, and caressed her hair once. “We’re heading to his location tomorrow”.

“Excuse me, sire…”, Jaken poked Sesshomaru. “Do you think it is wise to bring Rin to your mother’s castle? After all that she’s done…”

Rin’s eyes grew wider again, as she remembered how rude Inukimi was. Sesshomaru guarded so many secrets, since the time she was a little kid. Becoming intimate to him came with a price, that it was to merge deeper in his character and the things he never told her. Sesshomaru tried to postpone that day as further as he could, but there was no use anymore. Rin had always been opened to him, but it was different. She didn’t have more than 400 years on her back like he did. Some things of that past were supposed to keep quiet. Rin was disappointed, still, and even though she didn’t have a single drop of experience as her partner, she had things to hide as well. All she wanted was to give him a taste of what it felt like.

“You made me sad today, my lord. You hid something from me twice”, she moved her hand back and avoided another kiss of consolation. “As Jaken ended up telling me afterwards, it is my turn to ask him to guard a secret, and he will only tell you when he finds convenient”. She called for the imp vassal and whispered in his ear. What she told Jaken terrified him, and he collapsed on the grass. 

Sesshomaru clenched his fists. He was obviously curious, but he knew he deserved that little punishment from Rin. He should have been more honest to her, and not a selfish asshole, like Inuyasha often referred to him as. “Why was a relationship with a human so complicated?”, Sesshomaru wondered. Still, he couldn’t think of anyone else to share his life with, to raise his son, or to make love with. Even when sad, or mad with him, Rin was unique, fearless, and brave. She never once thought twice before talking to him, such a delicate flower like her, while demons of various forms, shapes, and sizes nearly pooped themselves by smelling his poisonous presence. Once again, it was chilly at night. Even though Rin fought the cold, Sesshomaru couldn’t let her pass the night like that. It didn’t matter how mad she was or how wrong he was. He just wanted her close, warm, and happy. With his mokomoko, he dragged Rin against his skin, and gently said on her ear: “Will you forgive this Sesshomaru?”. “Yes”, the answer came, and half asleep Rin blacked out completely, surrounded by the warmth of her Lord.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you expect from Rin reencountering Inukimi and meeting Seijin for the first time?


	23. Sesshomaru's Candidate In The Castle Above

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sango receives a letter from Kohaku, sharing what's he's been experiencing in the new demon slayer tribe. Rin is finally presented to Inukimi and Seijin as Sesshomaru's partner. What will be Lady Mother's and her grandson's impressions of her? Check it all out in this 4k words chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is being reposted because I couldn't stand reading so many mistakes. I corrected everything I could see... It isn't fair that my text has bad quality, to me and to reads it. I often have trouble with too long chapters because of the same reason, but I hope to overcome this soon.

Kagome and Inuyasha had been resting together by the river, near Miroku and Sango’s house. There wasn’t any spiritual work to be done or any demon to be slain. An unusual peaceful day. Inuyasha caressed Kagome’s stomach. It was still flat. He couldn’t wait until a bump appeared so he could show everyone he was to be a family man. Villagers didn’t quite believe it still, as never in history a half-demon had a family of their own. The priestess looked up, thinking.

“I wonder if Rin and Sesshomaru are alright”, she said.

“Heh, I wouldn’t worry If I were you, Kagome”, Inuyasha shrugged, with closed eyes. “Sesshomaru wouldn’t let a fly touch Rin if he got suspicious of it”.

“You’re right… But I keep asking myself if they already did those things together, you know? I fear Sesshomaru is not exactly gentle or kind like you are, Inuyasha”.

“Naaah”, mocked the hanyou. “If I know Sesshomaru well, he wouldn’t even know how to seduce Rin. Not that he needs to, because Rin adores him the way he is. She’s kinda crazy. You realise that, don’t you?”

“Crazy or not, she is part of the family now. We should be glad for that”, Kagome smiled and looked up to the sky, saying a prayer to Rin’s wellbeing. 

Miroku appeared behind them, holding hands with Ikko. He had some news to share. “Hey, love birds! Sango has just received a letter from Kohaku! Don’t you want to read it with us?”  
Sango gathered all the kids together in the living room and waited for her husband and friends. She was crazy to open the script and get to know how he was doing. As soon as everybody was sitting and quiet, she took a deep breathe and read out loud her brother’s words that were sent with love.

“To my dear sister Sango, her husband Miroku, and my friends Inuyasha, Kagome, and Rin…

In my travels I have come across some sort of miracle. The demon slayer tribe has been resurrected. The village is growing constantly, as people seek safety and training in our parents’ modality of combat. They are commanded by a woman young like I am, called Suzuna. She claims she and her sister, Serina, have met you a long time ago, Sango. After being frustrated that they couldn’t use our old weapons because they were filled with evil spirits, they found a monk who would exorcise the malicious ghosts, train soldiers, and help founding the new village. His name is Ungai. Master Ungai. I didn’t like him, to be honest. He kept insisting I got rid of Shippou. I think he is bringing shame to the original demon slayer people. We weren’t about exterminating all youkai, but to keep the balance between good and evil. Shippou said he knew the monk from ten years ago, and that you all do know him too, especially Rin, who had almost been abducted by him, the fox said. 

I am afraid I will be too intrusive if I say what I think. I am a guest here. I’ve been talking a lot to Suzuna, and I think I like her, and she likes me too. Perhaps she will listen to what I have to say, but she’s been too worried lately. Her older sister, Serina, was supposed to arrive in the village with her husband and there is no sign of them yet. All Suzuna knows is that she is heavily pregnant, and it must be hard for her to get here in time to have her baby.

Oh, and I really hope Sesshomaru doesn’t take Rin for travelling so soon, until I resolve things with the demon slayers. They are very aggressive and they wouldn’t hesitate in trying to kill Sesshomaru if they crossed ways with him. It would end up badly for the slayers… All I want is to avoid a bloodbath and praise for Rin’s safety. Sesshomaru would never admit this, but it will be difficult for him to keep an eye on Rin if there are dozens of warriors running after him.

Meanwhile, I hope everything is fine with you, Sango, your children, Miroku, Inuyasha, Kagome, and Rin. Shippou sent his best regards. I am keeping him safe.”

Everyone was pretty ecstatic about hearing from Kohaku. There was so much that they didn’t know. They only forgot that Rin was out there with Sesshomaru, and given the proportions, it wouldn’t be long until they met with some demon slayers. They could only hope and pray nobody would get hurt, and that Kohaku could convince the village and Master Ungai that their ways were wrong and brought unbalance to their world.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Inukimi was having a boring day at her suspended castle. Seijin was growing fonder of her by each day, which wasn’t much of a good sign. She couldn’t keep him. The boy was Sesshomaru’s responsibility. It was obvious that the little one’s heart was seeking a female figure to take the place of a mother. The Lady of the West knew she wasn’t much, but she was better than the lava goddess. A castle servant came and kneeled before her, asking permission to talk.

“Spit it out, servant”, she said, in a grumpy way.

“You have visitors, milady”.

She knew she had visitors, there was no need to announce them. She could smell Sesshomaru’s scent, as well as the scent of a human. “There we go again. Sesshomaru and his weird obsession with adopting mortal children”, she pictured in her head. “Shall I kill this one?”

Rin wore the prettiest yukata that she brought and tied a piece of her hair with thin braids around the back of her head. Still, she didn’t have any shoes, but Sesshomaru found it curious that Rin was worried about looking a bit better for his mother. Only then he realised the magnitude of what was about to happen. He was going to present Rin officially, as his candidate, as the future of the inuyoukai clan of the west. Things would change from then on. All demon clans would be aware of his choice to unite with a human. He feared that it would give them an excuse to defy him, and use Rin to take his place. That’s why he commissioned Rin’s dagger, so they don’t have a reason to mess with her. Sesshomaru wondered, though, if his lover knew the dimension of her future, and how would she behave under such great responsibility.

“Lord Sesshomaru… I am afraid”, told Rin, grasping the sleeve of the daiyoukai’s kimono. Jaken and Ah-Un followed behind.

“You are under my protection, Rin”, he assured her, while they both climbed the stairs of the entrance, where Inukimi often stayed, sitting on her throne. She was there.

When she raised to greet them, Rin swallowed dry. Inukimi ignored Sesshomaru and went straight to the young woman, and sniffed her. She only stared at Rin, and locked her gaze on hers. She had the impression she knew the pathetic girl. The Meidou Stone acted strangely near her. Rin was on the point of being terrified, but held her posture, discreetly searching for Sesshomaru’s hand to hold.

“Who is she?”, the Lady of the West questioned. 

“Stop pretending you don’t know, Lady Mother”, Sesshomaru was as direct as he could be. 

“It cannot be…”, Inukimi placed her index finger on her own chin, trying to see what Sesshomaru saw in that girl. “Are you bewitched, perhaps? Haven’t you noticed this is nothing but a puny human?”

Her eyes penetrated Rin’s. Many times Inuyasha would describe Sesshomaru as the way she was perceiving Inukimi at that very moment. Scary, cynical, and ironic. She tightened the grasp on Sesshomaru’s hand. The Lady Mother laughed.

“What is she laughing about, milord?”, commented Jaken behind their backs.

“Look at you, Sesshomaru. Holding hands? With the fragile thing that she is? Oh my, she must be really something for you to allow being this close”, she giggled a little more, and suddenly stopped. “Oh, I think I know who she is. I revived her with the Meidou Stone some years ago. Interesting. Then she grows up, and my son falls for her like a duck. Are you sure she is the one?”

“Rin will raise Seijin in the village where she lives”, pledged Sesshomaru, holding Rin’s hand back in response. “It is safe there. A defensive weapon was commissioned for Rin to use in case of need, made of my fang and her own blood”.

“She gave her blood?”, Inukimi was interested in that fact. She knew using blood to make a weapon was not for everyone. “Humm… Maybe she isn’t that fragile as I thought. She looks weak, though. I will show your rooms, provide a meal and proper clothing for your girl”.

Sesshomaru and Rin looked at each other, quite surprised and puzzled.

“That would be wonderful, milady”, Rin let escape. She wasn’t intending to speak so soon, because she was nervous, but seeing Inukimi change her tone a bit, relaxed the atmosphere. Even Sesshomaru noticed, because he never once thought about touching his sword. It made him wonder if his Lady Mother had also softened her heart of stone because of her grandson.

“She speaks!”, Inukimi grinned. “Good. We’ll talk ALONE later”.

The couple followed Inukimi inside the castle. As she was ahead, Rin put her arm in Sesshomaru’s, and they walked close together. She was talking low, and he only listened, while Lady Mother showed all places of the structure. Where she got married, where Sesshomaru was born, his favourite places to play, such and such. But where was Seijin? Rin didn’t even know what he was called until they mentioned it.

“Where is Seijin?”, Sesshomaru finally broke his silence. Usually, the boy used to jump at him without thoughts.

“Who knows… Maybe sleeping, maybe playing in the gardens… He will show up, sooner or later”. Inukimi shrugged. “One or two bedrooms?”, she asked, out of the blue, embarrassing them. 

Rin didn’t risk saying it. She and Sesshomaru were getting more intimate each day, but it seemed like they were being tested. 

“Two”, answered Sesshomaru. 

The Lord of the West headed to his old room, where he would sleep since his childhood, and for 150 years, until he left. All the memories of his father were coming back, little by little. He needed patience and confidence. Rin was then alone with his mother. He expected that she was treated with respect.

Standing near the windows, Sesshomaru had a privileged view on the gardens. The servants were patrolling it, as if in search of someone. The great dog demon squinted his eyes and paid attention to the sounds around him. With the speed of a blink of an eye, Sesshomaru noticed an imminent attack against him and caught the culprit with a single hand. It was Seijin, and he was hanging by his vest above the ground, by his father. The child tried to shake it off of his grasp, without success.

“Put me down, father!”, he pleaded.

“Still haven’t learnt how to stalk and surprise your enemy”, commented Sesshomaru, dropping his son on the floor.

Seijin didn’t get hurt. He landed on the tip of his fingers and toes. He was wearing his bracelets. 

“Do you need to wear your bracelets here?”, Sesshomaru wanted to know.

“I like to practice with them”, Seijin said. “I gave them a name, and I am learning a special skill”.

Sesshomaru remembered what Rasawa said when he handed the bracelets. They were made for defense, and adapted to whom wore them. Having its owner find the weapon’s true name and abilities’ names, its true power would show.

“What did you name them with?”, asked Sesshomaru.

“Shinraidekiru!”, braved Seijin, proud. “I found out that it can create a barrier around me, but I still haven't figured out how to do that”.

“Practice leads to success”, he refrained. 

Seijin felt his heart get warm with the attention Sesshomaru was giving to him. Even though he was young, he understood that his father was a youkai of few words, and every letter of a sentence spoken to him made him feel that he was special to him. Inukimi, his grandmother, was very similar, but talked a little more. 

“I love you, father”, declared the boy, holding his arms and legs around dad’s shin. He was a tiny thing, compared to him. 

Sesshomaru took him by the vest again, and brought him up to his chest, where his son’s eyes could meet his easily. “I have found you a new home, and a new mother”.

Seijin’s eyes flickered, as a rush of feelings and thoughts came across his mind. How did he feel about going somewhere else to live? How would he adapt to a stranger wearing the shoes that his original mother abdicated?  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Inukimi’s servants looked disgusted at Rin, while dressing her up, and doing her hair, as their lady had ordered. She was in a royal castle, and was promised to take an important position someday not so far. Rin had to be turned into a princess, even though she didn’t have such precedence. Somehow, it was all part of a theatre play. Lady Mother wanted to understand why her, what did Sesshomaru see in Rin that would make her such a secure candidate for her son. Was she wise? Smart? Or was it just because of her looks? Inukimi didn’t even know what qualified a human to be better looking than another, but what could she do if Sesshomaru’s tastes were inherited from Inu no Taisho?

“Much better now”, Lady Mother said, entering Rin’s chamber. “I think Sesshomaru will get nosebleed when he sees you”.

Rin blushed. “I do not deserve to wear your clothing, Lady Inukimi. I appreciate your kindness”.

“This is not mine, if I haven’t mentioned before. This fancy kimono is centuries old, but it is made of the best fabric ever manufactured. It used to belong to my husband’s human mistress”.

“Inuyasha’s mother?”, recalled Rin. 

Suddenly she felt guilty of wearing the beautiful piece. It was a long kimono, with extensive sleeve pouches and it covered her feet. The panel was coloured red, and printed with baby pink roses, and various kinds of daisies and dandelions, ranging from yellow to gold, pink to magenta. It was an intense pattern, with strong shades and matrices. Rin tended not to like exaggeration, but accepted Inukimi’s flattery and provocation with politeness. Her long hair was combed and adorned with a thin shell tiara. 

“Even for a human you look astonishing”, noted Inukimi. “You will cause some impression on that kid”. 

“Milady, may I ask what you really think of all this? I am thankful for your reception and care towards me. I would never expect that, but I feel like you’re not being totally honest… Forgive me for saying this… But I’ve always had the impression you hated Izayoi”, Rin trembled a little.

“Oh-?”, Inukimi uttered. “Servants, you are dismissed”. They were finally alone. She stood up and looked at the mirror, reflecting her image and Rin’s in the back, sitting on her bed. “Hate is a strong word. I wasn't happy about it, but I was above the jealousy. It was his problem, not mine. He had already given me a castle, status, and a son. I lamented that it had to end that way, but once she had conceived, he knew he was going to die, and planned everything to help raising his children even in afterlife”. 

“Is milady disappointed in Sesshomaru? Does milady believe death awaits us?”

“You must know, Rin, how hard it is for Sesshomaru to accept that he is following the steps of his father. He’s doing it all over again, and he realises that. Unlike Inu no Taisho, though, he is determined to survive, and keep you and Seijin safe, that was what Taisho failed to do”.

“He won’t rest until I learn how to defend myself… But he is right. If we can evict a tragedy, why not work hard for it?”

“I praise that you two are trying”, she sighed. “But I won’t be exactly surprised if something bad happens”.

The two headed to the dining room, to meet Sesshomaru again, this time with Seijin. Rin was very anxious. It was true that kids usually adored her, but she had no experience with youkai children. Sesshomaru and his son came across the women halfway the corridor. The Lord of the West’s eyes grew bigger in amazement. Never he had Rin look so majestic, serious, and up to the challenge. He knew it was difficult for her to adjust to his requirements. All he wanted was to keep her safe. He mentally promised to make it up for her, to dedicate his body and soul to her happiness. Finally, Rin laid eyes on Seijin. He was tanned, and had a dark red hair, tied in a little bun. She guessed that came from his mother, who she knew nothing about. The rest made pretty obvious that Sesshomaru was indeed his father. He had all skin markings, including the crescent moon on the forehead, and also the bright golden eyes. 

Sesshomaru was wearing an unusual attire, a thick fabric kimono, coloured grey and black. He pushed Seijin forward, so he would present himself to Rin. He was dressed similarly with his father, and afraid like a cat. Rin was different from everything he had ever seen. She was black haired and she smelled with nothing like a normal youkai. Her clothes made her look bigger and taller than she was. To his surprise, Rin kneeled to his level. 

“Hello, Seijin”, she said, serene. “I am called Rin, and I… I am… With your father”.

“What kind of demon are you?”, he replied, sniffing near her face. “Are you going to hurt me?”

“I would never hurt you. I promise. I want to be your friend”. 

“She’s human, Seijin. Therefore, she is weak. You must not hurt her either”, advised Inukimi. 

“Hum… My mother used to say humans were worthless and deserve to be extinguished”, he remembered.

“She was wrong”, promptly answered Sesshomaru. “You must treat Rin and her people like your own. That is a rule”.

Seijin felt the weight of his father’s words. It seemed to him that the human Rin was important, but he didn’t understand why would she become his new mother. Even though he was abused by Hiniiro, he was starting to miss her, thinking that she was maybe mad about seeing him again. 

“I look forward to getting to know you, Seijin”, Rin smiled.

The reunited family and their guest gathered and sat down to feast. Rin was starving. Sesshomaru felt a little concerned that there wasn’t much to eat as often out there in the wild. The couple exchanged their gaze, every now and then. It amused Inukimi, because Sesshomaru had never changed so much. She knew he knew Rin’s outfit used to belong to Izayoi… Or was supposed to belong to her. Inu no Taisho might have died before he had the chance to gift it to her. 

“When will you get married?”, she asked.  
“We haven’t discussed it yet”, Rin told her.

“Are you planning to have children?, her next question caused Sesshomaru to clear his throat. He almost had choked on his drink. Rin blushed again, now staring at her love. 

“We haven’t discussed that either”, she declared. 

“I hope Sesshomaru is not making a fool out of you so he can leave Seijin with you”, Inukimi teased. 

Sesshomaru had anger in his eyes. Still, he wasn’t going to fall for his mother’s games, and it was for the better that Rin didn’t either. 

“Rin”, he called. “Are you done eating?”

“Yes!”, she answered, taking a last bite. Rin thought she was going to explode. She had never eaten so much. 

“We’re going for a walk”, he decided, standing up. “Seijin, you stay”.

Rin followed him. He surely needed a break from Inukimi. She never once felt like being used by Sesshomaru, and she believed everyday that all that they were going through, all her sacrifices, would pay off in the end. The daiyoukai led her to the castle gardens. It was very dark. Rin grabbed an oil lantern to see the path. Far enough from any guard, they found a stone bench, with lantern posts around it. Rin lit them on and then sat down. Sesshomaru kneeled right in front of her, placing his giant hands on her lap.

“Do you still wish to go on?”, he asked, objectively. 

“Of course”, Rin grabbed on his shoulders. “Lady Mother is testing us, but in one thing she is right though”.

“What is it?”

“We have to discuss if we’re to get married, and about having children”, she recalled.

Sesshomaru hummed. “Fine. It will be discussed”, he paused briefly. “Do you wish to get married and have a wedding ceremony?”

It was the weirdest way to make a proposal. 

“I do, my lord, but only when you judge the time is right”.

“Noted. You will know”, he replied, fully attentive. That meant he planned a marriage in their lives. “Do you wish to have a child of your own?”

“I do, but only if it is your desire as well, Lord Sesshomaru”.

And just like that, the matter was discussed, although there were some loose ends. Rin laced Sesshomaru’s neck and pulled him for a kiss. He moaned silently, as Rin tongue kissed him. She was very good at it. After sharing a bit of affection with Rin, he asked her:

“What is your impression of Seijin?”

“I like him. He seems a bit troubled, but that’s normal. He must have had some kind of trauma related to his mother beating him”, she commented, as she ran her fingers through Sesshomaru’s soft silver hair. “Who is Seijin’s mother?”

“Hiniiro. The lava goddess. There weren’t any feelings involved”, he assured. 

“I believe you, and trust you”, Rin said, longing for more of his touch, more of his lips. 

Sesshomaru was getting eager, and searched for Rin’s legs beneath her kimono. She giggled, and reached his hand to help him find her knees and thighs. She trembled in anticipation, as it was uncertain what he intended, but he stopped there.

“You must be untouched until marriage”.

“We’re not going to do nothing much, my lord”, she said, kissing him again, and pulling his hands higher on her. She knew exactly what she wanted, where she needed to be touched. 

Sesshomaru’s suspicions only got more intense, but questions were to be made later. He longed to please Rin, just like she had done to him once. His arms disappeared under her kimono. He pushed her undergarments aside, and caressed her inner thighs and between them. The woman held firmly against the back of the bench and suavely parted her legs, as Sesshomaru took her to heaven with his actions. Rin’s dreamy smile, closed eyes, and silent moans got him very excited. If Rin didn’t tell him to stop soon, he was afraid he couldn’t wait until marriage to possess her. That until they heard noises coming from a bush. Sesshomaru immediately unhanded Rin. 

“What happened?”, she asked, quite confused and surprised. “Did you hear that?”

“Seijin!”, announced Sesshomaru, with a bit of anger. His son revealed himself, and put his head down. “I thought I told you to stay”.

“Forgive me, father. You were taking too long”, a tear formed on his eye. 

“Stop crying”, his father ordered. “Wait for me in your room”.

Seijin walked back to the castle feeling defeated and jealous of Rin. Why did she get to share time with his father, and not himself? He didn’t quite understand what they meant with giving him a new mother. Was Rin going to be the one? She, a stranger, and a human, who he had always heard so bad about. He planned not to let Rin steal his dad from him. He didn’t accept that. Rin and Sesshomaru were turned off by the interference, still, that little moment was good while it lasted. It was going to be a long week, until Seijin got accustomed to the idea that he was going to leave the luxurious comfort of grandmother’s castle, for the bucolic life in a village, where he was going to be looked as the different one. Sesshomaru could only hope his ultimate life project became true: having Rin and his son safe, together. He knew it wouldn’t last long, but at least he could say that this part of his life was worth it, like Inuyasha said to him one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, please, tell me what you think!  
> I am very thankful for all the kudos and views, it only makes me more motivated!  
> What is your take on the recent events? Any guess of what's about to happen?


	24. Soruteika

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kohaku and Suzuna confess and talk about their feelings and the future of the slayers. Sesshomaru parts with Rin and Seijin. Totosai delivers his newest work, Soruteika, a powerful dagger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I took longer than usual to complete this chapter. It is an important one!

For the last couple of days, Kohaku had been spending most of his hours meditating near a river, outside the walls of the slayers’ village. He was putting a lot of thought in what he intended to do. He was in love with Suzuna, but grew hatred about Master Ungai… The monk was like a father to her. Both him and Shippou could sense things could go very wrong if the slayers insisted on killing all demon tribes out there. Kohaku always refused to go on their missions, which confused the villagers a lot. Suzuna, who was also so fond of him, his values and stories, was puzzled. How could he, a victim of Naraku’s most evil plans, forgive the youkai scum? Ungai also had been very critical of him, having referred to Kohaku as a traitor, in front of everyone. The population was beginning to divide. While the majority agreed with the old monk, some few families saw reason in Kohaku’s thoughts. Not all people had bad experiences with demons. Some tribes were even more endangered than humans ever were throughout history.

Suzuna approached Kohaku with silent small steps. He didn’t recognise her from afar. She wasn’t wearing a slayer uniform, like all the times he had seen her before. She was dressed in a silky pearlescent kimono, patterned with bamboo leaves on it, coloured teal blue and green, with a black obi around the waist. Her short hair was loose and combed. Shippou was fascinated with her beauty, and poked his friend on the arm. Kohaku was nearly speechless.

“Su-Suzuna? Is that really you?”, he asked, blushing a little. 

She sat down by his side, and noticed the calmness of the river flowing. No wonder why Kohaku liked that spot so much. 

“Hi, Kohaku”, she greeted, monotonously. “We have to talk”.

He turned to looked her in the eye. They stared into each other’s freckles. 

“I hate to see you sad. I’m sorry we’re still haven’t found your sister”.

“I am thankful for your efforts. But I am not here to talk about Serina. I want to talk about you. You seem less interested in helping the village”, she pointed out.

“Suzuna…”, Kohaku’s voice sounded heavier. “There is no easy way to explain this. I am afraid you won’t understand me at all”.

“Try me. Why does Master Ungai and you never get to an agreement?” 

“That man is mean! He’s making you all mean like him!”, Shippou blurted out, before Kohaku answered.

“Shippou, it is my turn to talk… As I was saying, I believe the way Ungai and your tribe are handling the problems with demons is not the best way. I know, I have suffered a lot in their hands, but there are good ones as well, and they kept me safe. You know my sister Sango, and her friends. They would never hurt innocent beings. I am sorry to say this, but to me, you are taking the lives of families and their homes… You don’t have to avenge your past on everyone else. That’s what I think. I like you too much to let you taint your heart with Ungai’s unjustifiable anger and prejudice”. 

Suzuna’s eyes teared a little. She had never realised that she was killing off families, even though they were youkai. Finally, everything Kohaku stood for began to make sense to her, although it was hard to swallow it, and she had no clue how to make a change in her behaviour. 

“Oh my… You are right, Kohaku!”, she cried. “I am so sorry. I’ve always believed I was making my late father proud. I am a monster!”

“No, no. You are not a monster. You are a brave leader. I am not sure about Ungai, though. My friends and I fought so hard to end Naraku’s reign… I don’t want another war being brought upon us. I could lose people I care about. I could lose… You”.

Suzuna got red and felt her heart beating faster when Kohaku said those things. She thought her crush on him was merely one sided. She suddenly placed her hands on his and let another set of tears roll down her face. 

“Kohaku… I didn’t know you cared about me this much… I am glad that you do, because I feel the same”, she confessed, as Kohaku gave her a sweet hug. 

They spent a few minutes in each other’s arms, just taking a deep breath. A kiss wasn’t necessary in that very moment, but they knew they could build something very solid together. 

“Let’s focus on finding Serina first, and then we can think about Ungai”, he suggested.

“I’m in”, Suzina agreed. 

“Oh boy, I hope we make things better!”, commented Shippou, happy to see a newly formed couple.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“Do you think it is a good idea to let your girl and Seijin by themselves?”, Inukimi questioned, observing her grandson and Rin walking through the gardens. A clear vision from Sesshomaru’s window. “She seems clueless about taking care of children…”

Sesshomaru sighed. “Rin knows what is to be done”, he told, with certainty.

“Indeed. She told me she was professionally taught nursery and midwifery”, Lady Mother remembered. “Maybe she’s nervous because it is your son”.

It had been a week since Rin met Seijin. They stayed at the castle, waiting for Totosai’s deadline to deliver the dagger Sesshomaru commissioned. Rin’s hand palm had a scar, but healed fine. Little by little, she tried to be a good company to the boy, showing to him she wasn’t as bad as she appeared. Depending on Seijin’s irregular mood, some days he accepted Rin well, and got along with her, and there were other days in which he despised her and snarled at her. It was very hard to find a balance. His jealousy was not under control yet either. Almost everytime Rin and Sesshomaru were kissing, or attempting to make out, he would walk in on them, on purpose. 

“If I remember well, you began snarling at me and your father at this age. It took a handful of years to make you stop”, Inukimi teased.

“We’re leaving soon”, told Sesshomaru, ignoring his mother’s comments. 

“Be careful out there. My servants have rumoured about demon slayers venturing and killing off youkai without reason”, for a moment it seemed that she cared. 

Sesshomaru looked for Rin and Seijin in the gardens and told them to get ready. After being explained in exhaustion that it would take long until he saw his grandmother again, the kid obeyed his father and got ready for travel. Rin wore Izayoi’s old clothing again. That woman loved the red colour, or was it his father that liked seeing her like that. The similarities between the sin which Inu no Taisho had fallen for and his own sin were alarming. He also had seen Inuyasha’s mom once. Rin noticed her love’s struggle to accept himself and his choices, because sometimes he couldn’t even look at her, and the touch of her hand and the warmth of her lips while in closed eyes were the only things he wanted to feel.

With his aid, Rin humped on Ah-Un’s saddle and shared its space with Seijin. Sesshomaru didn’t plan on slowing down in the first part of the trip. If he made it to the castle from Totosai in one day, he could go the same way back in the same timing. With Seijin onboard, Rin’s dagger was a priority. 

“Hold on tight, Seijin. I don't want you to fall”, recommended Rin. 

Seijin had missed flying on Ah-Un. As he observed Sesshomaru flying by himself close by, he wondered if he would ever be able to fly like his father. The sightings of Totosai’s homeland reminded him of his birthplace. Again he remembered his mother, and got embittered by the thoughts that Rin was nothing compared to her, and nothing would change his mind. He really was son of his father. Shiho and Totosai weren't expecting for them to come so late in the middle of the night. The dagger was under observation by the swordsmith still. The linnorm youkai was the one who greeted them. Seijin had fallen asleep on Ah-Un’s saddle, and Rin often held his balance, so he wouldn’t fall. Sesshomaru remembered that when Rin was little she would fall asleep on the two headed beast frequently. She was not fit to endure his long travels by foot. He didn’t care about moving her if she fell. Her sleep used to be so deep that even the impact on the ground wouldn’t wake her. 

“Lord Sesshomaru”, Shiho bowed to him, and then to Rin. “Milady”.

“I’m not a Lady, you don’t have to entitle me with anything…”, the young woman blushed. 

Jaken jumped on Ah-Un’s back, and crawled Rin’s shoulder. “You should get accustomed to this, Rin. Soon you will be a Lady”.

“Even you would have to address to me with titles then, Jaken. Have you forgotten that? You are a vassal”, Rin’s statement made Jaken feel mortified. 

The imp collapsed in tears and fell from the dragon youkai. “Lord Sesshomaru! Will I be subjugated to Rin once you unite with her?!? I’ve been loyal to you far longer than she has! I’ve never abandoned you, milord!”

And he was hit on the head. As usual. Rin giggled and checked on Seijin again. Sesshomaru was called first in the depths of Totosai’s home. The furnace still smoked. The swordsmith had some important things to say, before the blade was given to Rin. The dagger was already placed on a flat stone, with it’s sheath by its side. The weapon had a sword-like hilt, about 10 inches long, and slightly curved near the end.

“As you can see, the blade isn’t exactly plain. The reason is that I wanted it to serve the purpose of both piercing and slashing enemies”, began talking the old youkai. “I called it Soruteika [Soul Taker]. It was made with the solely purpose of defending oneself of certain death, by killing almost instantly the opponent. I believe it to be the most powerful and dangerous weapon I’ve ever made”.

Shiho cleared her throat and fire gazed Totosai. 

“Alright, I admit. Shiho took great part in the making. I wouldn’t have done it without her”, said Totosai.

“You didn’t even want to keep going!”, Shiho revealed, still pissed off. 

Sesshomaru turned his face and closed his eyes at the stupid argument. The clicking of his claws made them realise the pointlessness of it all. They went silent. “Tell me what it does, Totosai”.

The elderly demon took the dagger in one hand. “Well, primarily, it is like a normal dagger. Once it senses that the bearer’s life is in danger, the blade glows, and expels a thin fog. If the threat is cut or pierced while in that state, there is a spell to be said… A call to summon the soul of the enemy out of the body, automatically resulting in death”.

“Good”, praised Sesshomaru, signing to get hold of the dagger. Was that a compliment? From Lord Sesshomaru himself?

“Wait a minute, Lord Sesshomaru”, intervened Shiho. “Your demonic aura could corrupt Soruteika. It will be already difficult for Rin to dominate, even though her blood is in it. The less youkai touch it, the better for her”. 

Sesshomaru nodded, and then called for Rin. She let Seijin under Ah-Un and Jaken’s care. Every information was repeated to her, while she paid attention, and felt overwhelmed with the responsibility of owning such mortal weapon. There was no priestess around to purify it. There was a risk of Soruteika possessing Rin. If that happened nobody would be safe, not even Sesshomaru. 

“Concluding our tutorial, it means that you could even kill Sesshomaru”, Totosai finished, and then went back on his work, fixing some battle swords. Shiho put the dagger in its sheath, and presented it to Rin, with a belt to keep it around her waist. 

“You know I would never do that. I love you, my lord”, Rin told him, before giving him a hug. 

“In case you need to do it, don’t hesitate”, he replied, dragging her closer to his chest. Sesshomaru sometimes feared that, in extreme situations, his giant dog form could blind him and mistake Rin for someone else. 

Totosai deviated his eyes towards them for a minute, before blowing fire on a katana, and hammering it a few times, making it as good as new. He almost didn’t notice a little red hair boy eyeing him and his work. “Oh, hello. You must be Sesshomaru’s heir”. 

Ignoring Totosai’s greeting, Seijin crawled on the pole where the swordsmith had put the katana and smiled big. “I can blow fire just like you do! Look!”, and then big yellow flames burned the old youkai’s clothing. Totosai jumped high and ran while having his kimono on fire. Sesshomaru’s eyes widened. Rin’s heart raced in surprise. Shiho aided her master and put out the fire. Seijin was hollering in laughter. 

“Did you know he could spit fire, Lord Sesshomaru?”, Rin held on her lover’s neck tighter, as Seijin jumped close to the couple, exhaling a hot breath. 

“Seijin, don’t do that again”, reprehended his father. He didn’t know his son could do that.

The child became jealous and frustrated. His eyes seemed to flicker in red colour. “Why do you always give more attention to her? Why do you always tell me to stop doing everything? Don’t you love me, father?! Why do I have to go with her? I want my mommy back, my real mommy!”

Sesshomaru was clueless about what he had to do. Talking was not his best quality, and consoling someone was a even harder task. “Your mother beats you and you still want to go back. Such nonsense. If that’s what you want, suit yourself, but don’t count on me to take you there”.

“Lord Sesshomaru…”, Rin disapproved his method. She knew what he was doing, trying to disencourage him about seeing his mother again. 

“I will find mommy!”, he answered back. “I hate you! You will never be my mother”, he also said, pointing at Rin. Then, he left running with his super speed. 

Rin was very concerned. She believed there was a better way to solve this than being rude and harsh with the kid. “He doesn’t know how to get anywhere, or does he?”

“It is his choice. He does as he pleases”, Sesshomaru grumbled. “It’s pathetic to think he would accept you”.

“He is just a child. He is your son, my lord”, Rin pleaded. “And you’re ashamed because you are the only youkai that could fully relate to me, as if there was something wrong with your mind…”, tears began to fill up, as she spoke.

Shiho placed a claw on her shoulder, as in sympathy. “Well, we can be wrong in doing what we’re doing, but it is right for us. The others don’t matter. You told me to wait until I got mature to follow my own rules, that’s what I did. Like I was once, Seijin is a kid, and he is not capable of being out there on his own. He can hate me, I don’t mind. But I will love him because he will be part of our family. I see us as a family, my lord. Don’t torn him apart, please. Be a father to him, and I will gladly do what’s in my power to be the mother he deserves.

“Humm…”, he thought for a while. It used to be normal to let youkai children choose their fate since the beginning, but that time there was no war, not many humans and any slayers at all. Times had changed. He couldn’t let his only heir die because of a childish desperate choice. Rin was right, and her intelligence meant a lot to him. “I will go ahead, to look for Seijin. Stay here until daybreak, so you can rest. And make sure you create the right words for your spell, so you can use Soruteika when necessary”. 

All those suggestions and safety checks meant the only thing he could not verbalize. He loved her too. And he loved his son. He had to find him, before something bad happened to the boy. 

“Soruteika…”, Rin branded her dagger, to study it. “What will I do with you, Soruteika?” Rin couldn’t sleep at ease, due to Seijin fleeing off to somewhere she didn’t know where. Either way, he dreamed of whispers telling her what to do with her dagger, revealing the true spell words to be said… Spirit, come forward! [Tamashii mieru!]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It would help me a lot if you comment... and give your opinion about this fic. See ya next time :D Another important chapter comingfor you soon!


	25. To prove a woman's worth part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin delivers Serina's baby with a lot of trouble, and then heads to Slayers Village to find Seijin. Master Ungai has a bad feeling, and doesn't like that Kohaku wants to marry Suzuna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took so much longer than I expected!  
> Still, it is ready. My plan was to wright the two parts together, but I am unable to write gigantic chapters... at least not yet!

“C’mon Jaken! We have yet to find Lord Sesshoumaru and Seijin! Hopefully, the two of them are already together”, pledged Rin, tiring her feet from walking too much. Jaken himself was tired, and it was noon still. They haven’t stopped since daybreak. 

They followed Ah-Un towards where his master’s smell was coming from, but the imp had the impression they were walking in circles, leading them to nowhere. Then the beast stopped to eat the leaves of a bush. Rin sighed, feeling let down. She hoped the tellings of the demon slayers were not true. She only wanted Seijin to be safe. She understood how difficult it was for him, to go through so much, not relying on his own mother to take care of him and love him. Demons were stubborn, no matter their age, but Rin wasn’t planning on giving up. She chose that path, she wanted to follow Sesshoumaru. 

After having their breakfast out of peaches they took from a large tree, they found a pond from which to drink water from. The place was a bit clearer from the density of the trees, allowing the group to sightsee. Rin could swear she could see thin lines of smoke going up far ahead, as if there were chimneys. 

“The new demon slayer village”, she said, almost not believing her words. 

“I hope Lord Sesshoumaru hasn’t gone that way…”, Jaken feared, with a shaky voice. 

“We both know that he would only venture in there if Seijin…”, Rin stopped her sentence. “I can’t begin to imagine what would happen to the villagers if Seijin had been captured”.

Jaken got nervous and shouted at Rin. “And I thought you were the positive side of this group! How can you infer that milord's heir was captured by those filthy slayers?!?”

“I am sorry, master Jaken, I didn’t mean to…”, Rin felt bad for that. 

Before their silly fight could go on, Ah-Un growled almost silently and positioned himself defensively. He must have heard something or someone getting closer. An unarmed man appeared, on the other side of the pond. He wore simple clothes, and a rag made hat to cover the head, typical of artisans. Rin pet Ah-Un’s back, assuring that there was no danger. He seemed so desperate, and so hopeless, and fell on his knees when he reached Rin. 

“Thanks to the gods, I found someone! Please, girl, help me. My wife… I think she is dying! She was in labour for almost three days and the baby hadn’t come, now she is getting weaker by each hour! I don’t know what to do… Please…”, he grabbed Rin’s hand, crying uncontrollably hard. 

Rin kneeled to his level, and comforted him. “It’s alright, my good sir. Today is your lucky day. I am a midwife, and I swear to do what I can to save her and the child”.

“Oh, thank you so much! I put on a tent where she is. I didn’t leave her side for one second, but then I heard a woman’s voice and came running!”, Only then he opened his eyes and got a scope of the creatures behind Rin. He screamed and fell sitting, and began to crawl to escape. “AH! DEMONS! RUN, YOUNG LADY!”

“Sir! Please, don’t run, they are not going to harm you!”, Rin answered back. “They are travelling with me, they are not evil, I swear”.

“Are you really human?”, he asked, shaking.

Jaken stepped forward and answered himself. “Unfortunately, she is human. A silly one! We’re not here to help a pathetic peasant with the likes of you. We have a more important mission, you see!”

The imp indeed didn’t scare the man. In the absence of Sesshoumaru, Ah-Un punished Jaken for his bad manners, swinging his tail and hitting it on the imp’s face, knocking him down. “Thanks, Ah-Un”, said Rin. “Will you let me help you, still?”

“It seems like I have no other choice”, he admitted. Then, they headed to the location where the suffering woman was. 

She had a pale skin tone and was covered in sweat. That was not a good sign. Before beginning the examination, Rin asked for the couple’s names and introduced herself. The husband was called Yuto, and he was a potter. His wife was called Serina. They were heading to the slayer’s village to have the baby there, among family members, but the contractions started before they could get to their destination. Rin didn’t mention Sesshoumaru when explained her origins. She only said she had met Jaken and Ah-Un as a child, after losing her family to bandits, which was the truth, in a way. Serina was so weak she could barely speak. It hurt whenever Rin touched her on the belly or checked her dilation. After studying her case long enough, Rin found out that the baby wasn’t turned head down completely, and that was why it couldn’t get out. Also it worried her that the baby wasn’t moving for several hours already. She had to do something immediately. 

“Serina, I have to turn the baby to the right position and get it out as fast as possible. I am sorry, but this is going to hurt like hell”.

Serina had a piece of cloth to bite on, while Yuto held her down. Rin was nearly in tears, from witnessing the woman struggle and scream so much, but did what she had to do. At that point, there was no easy way. Rin had never dealt with a difficult situation like that. After a couple of hours and trying different methods and birthing positions, Serina expulsed her child out of her body. Rin only wished they didn’t have to see something so horrid. The child was born lifeless. Its skin had a bluish tone, and the umbilical cord was entangled around the neck. The couple held on their baby in the arms, crying together, feeling guilty of something that it wasn’t their fault. Rin retrieved the complete placenta and sighed with a little relief. He couldn’t save the baby, but the mother was going to survive and recover. Serina held Rin’s hand, so she could acknowledge and demonstrate that she didn’t blame her either. Rin saved her life. Still, nothing could make Rin feel less sad for not bringing the happiness that every mother should have. 

“Excuse me for a moment, lady Serina”, Rin asked, and headed outside the tent. 

Rin knew it was important for women to trust the strength of their midwives, but she felt like she couldn’t be stronger than that. She left the tent only so she could break down and cry, frustrated. She was on all fours, staring at the ground, watching her tears fall and get absorbed by the soil. Suddenly, a shadow covered her and spoke, puzzled:

“Why do you cry, Rin?”, Sesshoumaru wanted to know. He crouched to her level and lifted her chin up with his hand. “What happened?”

“Sesshoumaru!”, Rin jumped in his arms as soon as she recognised him, forgetting to title him as a lord, as she always did. “The couple asked for my help. The lady couldn’t deliver her baby for nearly three days… And, when we succeeded, the infant was already dead”, she spoke in hiccups, traumatised. “The mother is fine. I could save her”.

Sesshoumaru pressed Rin against him to comfort her. She lacked all the powers he had, and still was capable of saving a life, with her own hands. He admired her, and recognised her efforts and her work as a midwife. He wiped the tears from Rin’s face and headed to the tent where Yuto and Serina mourned their baby girl. 

“My lord, what are you doing?”, Rin asked, wondering why did he go bother the couple for.

He didn’t answer. The tent was rather short for him, but he got inside anyway. Yuto and Serina were shaking in fear of his presence. He was a real youkai, a powerful ancient demon. 

“What do you want from us?”, the man defied him.

“Put the child down”, ordered Sesshoumaru, with a hand upon his Tenseiga.

“What for, vile beast?”, Serina said in return. “What will you do to her poor soulless body?”

“I won’t say again. Put the child down”, he commanded again, taking the sword he inherited from his father from its sheath.

Rin erupted from a tiny space left in the entrance of the tent and pleaded to them. “Do what he says. Trust me on this. Please”.

After a lot of hesitation, Serina chose to believe Rin, and placed the tiny corpse in front of the daiyoukai. The sword pulsated and Sesshoumaru was able to see beings from the netherworld upon the baby. He swung the weapon and cut through them, while scaring the potter and his wife. What on Earth did he just do?

“Rin. Take the infant in your arms”, he told her.

She did as he wanted to. “I have her, my lord”.

“Is it breathing?”, he questioned. He knew for sure the sword had done what it was supposed to, but Rin was there to double check.

She grew a big smile on her face. The pale baby gained colour. Its chest moved up and down. The little fingers and toes moved alongside with the arms and legs. A loud and clear cry escaped her mouth, making both her and the parents cry in happiness. “She is alive!”. A miracle had just happened. Rin rushed to give her back to the embrace of her mother. 

“Thank you, demon lord”, Serina thanked him, not sure if her way was the best way.

“This is her second and last chance”, warned Sesshoumaru. “There is nothing to be done if it dies again”.

“We understand, and we’re deeply in debt with you, milord”, acknowledged Yuto. “If I could do anything for you, to compensate…”

Sesshoumaru was not the kind of youkai that did favours for humans only to explore them afterwards, but it was sure that he had a special interest in them. Rin noticed that Seijin wasn’t with him still. Jaken was crying already, fearing for the safety of the demon boy. Yuto was already getting his buffalo ready and packed to go. Serina was going to mount the animal, so she didn’t have to walk. Rin recommended absolute bedding for at least three days. 

“We’re heading to the village. They have plenty of food and futons to sleep. I am sorry, but demons are not welcome there. In fact, they won’t hesitate on putting you all down. Stay away from these lands, demons, if you want to live. That’s the least I can do, after what you’ve done to save my child”, Serina was serious when she said that. 

“Rin is going with you”, stated Sesshoumaru. 

“I beg your pardon?”, Rin’s eyebrows shifted up, as she abruptly turned back to face her lover. “What do you mean with that? We’re supposed to stay together”.

The tone of their conversation already made clear what kind of relationship they had. Yuto and Serina could only stay there and watch them interact, which was weird enough. 

“Seijin’s in there”, affirmed Sesshoumaru. 

“What?!?”, Jaken began to feel ill from hearing this. “Was he captured, milord?”

“No. He is unharmed. I can’t smell his blood, only his scent”, he explained. “I come to think he is hidden… Rin, you are the only one who can get in the village and look for him. Do you think you can do that?”

“I will find him”, Rin assured him. “If I’m going to be his mother, I have to rescue him”.

“I will know if you’re in danger. Be safe, Rin”.

She surprised him with a last hug and kiss, before leaving him once again and joining Yuto and Serina. While they walked down the path towards the slayer’s village, Rin couldn’t stop a few tears from coming up. Since they started that journey they have never been apart for more than a few hours. In fact, Rin was scared that she forgot how to endure distance and live independently. That was the purpose of their adventure wasn’t it? Making it possible that Rin faces problems on her own, without having his help all the time. She looked over Soruteika, resting by the sheath on her waist. With its power she could go through anything, she would stand a chance against threats, and make Sesshoumaru proud.

“Tell me, Rin, do you and the demon really love each other? He looked so cold and bossy…”

“He may seem cold, but he is not. It is because you were watching us”, she laughed. “He acted like that because I am the only one who can find Seijin”.

“Is he your son? You are so young”, asked Yuto.

“No, not mine. Only his. When Lord Sesshoumaru and I got together he was born already. He is six years old”. 

“And you don’t care that he had another woman before you?”

“He’s more than four hundred years old, why should I blame him? …And I am not perfect either…”, Rin whispered that last sentence to herself.

“Well, you are a unique and brave person, Rin. I will honour you and your demon partner. I shall not let the slayers hurt the boy you are looking for”, promised Serina, before kissing the forehead of her child. “We also need to give you a name, my sweet girl”.

The gates of the village were visible now, together with its high wooden walls and stone made watchtowers. That was not a home to Rin, it was a prison. How could people learn how to live and deal with demons peacefully if they pretended to be in a world without them, if they planned to extinguish all of them? It would be an even harder task to find Seijin and bring him back, for that place was very threatening to non-humans. Rin touched her lips and still felt Sesshoumaru’s taste on it. She had that to hold on to, while they didn’t see each other again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kohaku had his head hanging lowly. Even though he had now confessed to Suzuna. She was promised to be his, and he was promised to be hers. Their biggest problem was Master Ungai. As he was responsible for Suzuna, his blessings were very important. Maybe, the monk could give him another chance, and Kohaku could have one more shot at bringing reason to his mind. Ungai was inside the village’s shrine, meditating. The perfume of juhi incense filled the room, appeasing the young man’s spirit. He joined Master Ungai and kneeled by his side. Shippou was probably playing with the kids or helping Suzuna out. He was seen as harmless by then, but not to Ungai’s eyes, still.

“Kohaku, did you come here to clear the clouds of your mind?”, he calmly asked. 

“Actually, master, it goes unclouded by the day”, he answered, trying not to shake. “I want to ask your permission to marry Suzuna. We have confessed our feelings to each other, and we look forward to be together”.

Ungai was disappointed, but not surprised. “I could see from the early beginning you had interest on Suzuna. It makes me feel suspicious, though, why do you covet the leadership position of this village so much? Do you wish to change the rules here? Have you converted Suzuna to your side already? Kohaku, you are putting people’s lives in danger. Demons do not share space with us, they take it from us. They want to enslave our men, explore our children, and violate our women”.

Kohaku sighed. To maintain control was the key in such crucial moment. “Master, I know how strongly you believe in your own words. I respect that, even though I don’t agree one bit. I do not covet leadership, neither power, or promote a revolution. What I offer is merely a second option. Slaughter innocent demon tribes is not going to bring you any peace. It will only bring the worse of them, because they can be attracted to tainted spirits and hearts. I too fear for the village’s own safety. I am not here to discuss this right now, anyway, Master. I only wish you could consent to my marriage with Suzuna. We can discuss other matters later”.

Kohaku’s respectful ways were indeed appreciated by Ungai. “I will pray, meditate, and give a lot of thought to your proposition. I can not answer now, but soon you will know”, the monk stated. 

That was better than a “no”, and it was enough to make Kohaku smile. “Thank you, Master”. 

Before Kohaku could leave, Ungai stopped him again. “I sense a demonic aura in this village. It’s not strong, but I feel as if the greater evil has been lurking around here. Be careful. I must find what is disturbing my senses”. 

There he went again, obsessing over demons and the safety of the village. Feeling a little more relieved, Kohaku left the shrine and was surprised by Suzuna, who jumped on his arms for a hug. She was smiling and crying at the same time. 

“He said he was going to think, love”, Kohaku tried saying, but she suffocated him with her intense grasp.

“A miracle has just happened, Kohaku. My sister is alive! Serina is here! With her newborn baby!”, it seemed like she was ignoring him, but she wasn’t. She heard him well. Suzuna was just happy at the recent events. “Come with me, let’s greet them!”

Suzuna pulled Kohaku by hand across the village, until where they had stopped to unpack. Yuto helped his wife climb down the buffalo, as Rin helped her keep balance. She was still weak. Suzuna couldn’t contain herself. She gave her the greatest hug she could, avoiding to squeeze the child or hurt her own sister. 

“I prayed every day for your safety, Serina. I am glad you’re here, with your baby! I swear you would get here in time to deliver in safe grounds”, commented Suzuna, concerned. 

Kohaku was even more impressed. “Yuto, I am amazed by your strength and ability! Staying by Serina’s side in that difficult moment!”

“I beg your pardon, Serina, this is Kohaku, my fiancé”, she blushed as she told them. 

“It is a pleasure to meet you! I never thought my sister would get married”. Serina drew Rin closer to her again, presenting her to the newly engaged couple. “Yuto couldn’t do much, but thanks to him, we found a spectacular midwife on the way. Her name is Rin. I owe my and my daughter’s life to her”. 

When Kohaku’s and Rin’s eyes found each other, it was like the world was about to collapse with the stars. She started crying, because she missed him dearly, and ran into his friendly embrace. “Kohaku! My God! You’re here!”

“Rin, I was so worried about you!”, he said, relieved, while Suzuna seemed puzzled by what kind of relation they had. “Please, let me introduce you to Suzuna. We’re together”. 

“Hello Rin, I don’t know how to retribute you for saving Serina and her baby. You are very welcome here”, the village leader shook hands with her. “Have you met Kohaku for a long time?”

“Nice to meet you, Suzuna! You are a famous and powerful leader, from what I’ve heard. Oh, me and Kohaku have known each other since we were kids. We were both victims of Naraku’s games and schemes, but in the end we became friends”, Rin looked at Kohaku again, checking with him if her description was accurate enough. He winked at her. 

“Oh, I see. Let me install you in my own house, Rin, you are my special guest, and since you’re friends with my fiancé, I would love to know more about you, dear”, Suzuna was a little jealous but at the same time happy to know someone from Kohaku’s life. She knew he had almost no one, but his sister as a living relative. Rin and him must have had a tough time in those Naraku days. Suzuna had no idea how did Kohaku suffer. He only told her a few things. “Have you been travelling alone?”, she asked, as they walked towards Suzuna’s place. 

Rin blushed and felt a little anxious. “No, I’ve been travelling with a group of three. We’ve parted ways now”. If Kohaku’s assumption was right, those three were Sesshoumaru, Jaken, and Ah-Un. For obvious reasons, they had to part ways. Serina kept her promise to preserve Rin’s real circumstances. She knew how obsessed and psychotic Ungai could get once he learned she was in a relationship with a demon. After the introductions and a little chit chat, Rin and the recent arrived relatives headed to Suzuna’s big leader hut. Even Kohaku helped with the cooking to accommodate the extra guests. He was so glad to see Rin, and yet to worried and reflective. He believed Sesshoumaru had left her, or made her unhappy like he prevented when he tried to court Rin and win her heart. He was with Suzuna now, yes, and he loved her dearly, but having Rin before him was like his mind was messing up with his old feelings. 

Once everybody was served and sat at the table, Shippou finally came back from his daily exploring and training. He was equally breathless to see Rin. Serina and Yuto were surprised that Suzuna had allowed him to stay. She was different. Kohaku managed to influence her, after all. One spot around the table was still empty when the group started eating. Suzuna, who sat at the edge, as every leader should, looked over the empty space at her right. Master Ungai was always there. Though it was common for him to skip meals, he would warn about it before dinner time. 

“Where’s my master?”, she asked the soldiers who guarded her door.

“Master Ungai has been locked up in his temple, praying, and conjuring spells to protect the village against demons, milady”.

Rin’s eyes grew as big as the globe when she heard his name. She actually started choking on her meal, coughing each time stronger and desperately. 

“I don’t feel good about this. Once I’m finished I will check on him”.

Kohaku raised and approached Rin, who was getting purple from choking on the food. “Are you okay Rin?!?”

She couldn’t speak, nor breathe. Shippou jumped across the table, like an acrobat, and punched her back, to aid her. She immediately swallowed and felt relieved. “Better?”, he asked, giving her a wink.

“Thank you…”, she said lowly. “I am sorry, I need to be excused for a minute. I will come back and finish later”. Feeling disturbed, Rin got up and went straight to the bedroom assigned for her. She sat down on her futon and panicked in silence. Her chances of finding Seijin safe and sound only narrowed. 

Kohaku knocked and entered anyway, slowly, suavely. He knew something wasn’t right. Rin looked at him with a dreadful expression. He came closer and sat on futon too, with crossed legs, by her side. 

“I thought you had gotten the letter I sent to Sango, at the village. There I was telling about Master Ungai”.

“I’ve been on the road for weeks, Kohaku. I hadn’t seen any letter. I was travelling with Lord Sesshoumaru”.

Kohaku seemed surprised. “I thought… He left you… And… You got lost and ended up here, somehow…” 

Rin giggled in irony and swallowed her tears for a moment. “He would never leave me at my own luck, Kohaku. As if you don’t know him…”

Kohaku was a bit sad , and confused. “What did you come here for, Rin?! You knew what this place was since the beginning”.

Rin swallowed dry. She’d never expected, to tell the truth so soon. “I am looking for a youkai boy, named Seijin. He’s the son of Lord Sesshoumaru…”

Kohaku face palmed. He couldn’t believe it, almost. “He had a son? And you still accept him?”

“He’s more than four hundred years old, Kohaku. He could have had many children since before I was born! It wouldn’t make any difference... “, Rin argued and cleared her throat. “Seijin hasn’t got used to me yet and ran away. It is a long story, I will have to let it for another time. My lord followed his scent to this village. He’s hidden in here, somewhere. I gotta find him, before the monk does”.

Kohaku felt touched by Rin’s commitment in finding a child that wasn’t hers, and gave her a hug. “I will help you. A little kid, being demon or human, doesn’t deserve any bad. Shippo is good for tracking, I am sure we will see him soon!”

Rin hugged him back, feeling glad. “Thank you, Kohaku… I knew I could count on you! He’s short, tanned, has red hair, and the same skin markings as his father. It will be easy to recognise him”.

“I remember Ungai saying he was sensing a demonic aura in the village. He must be close!”, Kohaku said, determined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment <3  
> See ya next chapter!


	26. To prove a woman's worth part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been gone for a long time, but now I'm back! Enjoy this chapter :)

The night was quiet and lonely without Rin, and the hours seem not to pass by without Seijin. Sesshoumaru was quite disturbed by those feelings of longing and his intricate need to keep his dear ones safe. Uncertain if by luck or due to his youkai instincts, a strange aura lured his attention. He left the camp where Ah-Un and Jaken were sleeping and jumped straight up to the starry sky. He captured, with his eyesight, something really unexpected. 

A form of youkai that resembled a dragon was swirling in the nightly atmosphere. It was lot large, but it must have had hundreds of meters long. Flying in its unique way, drawing circles in the clouds, propelling itself forward. The lack of light hid the creature’s colours, but not its nature. Sesshoumaru sensed an immense power emanating from the youkai. He could smell the hot breath smoking from miles distant, and he could see sparkles around the numerous pair of claws, producing electricity. A sign that it wasn’t just passing by. The trail of the scent made clear to the Lord of the West that the monster was, in fact, patrolling the area.

As he tried approaching it, flying towards its direction, he was surprised that the youkai also turned to his way. While the snakelike body still hadn’t made the turn, the head and upper torso were already facing Sesshoumaru. As the youkai’s eyes glowed in red and grew before the dog warrior’s existence, he knew he wasn’t a simple demon, and he wasn’t from his land either. Still courageous and not moving once centimetre back, Sesshoumaru defied the dragon:

“Why have you crossed the seas into this land? Wasn’t it enough for you?”, Sesshoumaru didn’t feel it was the time to pull his sword yet. 

“Watch it with manners towards thy lord, Wang Lin Zhu, the Master of Death”. 

Sesshoumaru’s eyes and forehead tensed, as he clicked his claws. “You watch it, Wang Lin Zhu. You are in my land. I am the Lord of the West, and the perfect killer. Leave while you have the chance”. 

It seemed like Wang Lin Zhu’s body was all over the place, as it floated and danced in circles behind his head. An evil metallic laugh echoed from him, and without a single warning, a full powered ball of light fired from his mouth, hitting Sesshoumaru right away. He disappeared, and once again Tenseiga’s hilt, along with Bakusaiga’s, saved his life.

Sesshoumaru came to self in a place very far from the slayer’s village or Jaken’s camp. He didn’t remember the last time he got knocked out like that. The dog demon was smiling in a sarcastic way. He was supposed to be disfigured by that attack, and covered with burns. He was fine. His swords kept him safe. And Hiniiro’s magic had also worked like it should. His resistance against fire was approved by his likes. Even Hiniiro, whom he hated so much, took part in preserving his life. Sesshoumaru was glad. He had finally found an opponent worth fighting against ever since Naraku was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moriko was the daughter of a taylor mother and a demon slayer father. She had moved into the village a year before. The seven-year-old girl didn’t have many friends, and her older brother, Hayashi, who was eleven, often hit her. All that abuse ignored by her parents only toughened her up, but one day that had to stop.  
Something very unusual happened to Moriko in the past two days. It was cold, and late at night. Moriko woke up because she had to pee. The proper toilet used by villagers in her surroundings was outside the shed. Once she finished, she heard a little cry nearby, so she took a torch and went to investigate.  
Moriko found a little boy, just as young as herself, but he was different from all the boys she knew. He was tanned and had markings on his arms and legs, and a vibrant coloured hair. She had no idea why he was so different, but she was sure fascinated. Feeling empathy towards him, she got near and kneeled before him.

“Are you okay… ?”, asked Moriko, in a sweet way.

Seijin lifted his chin up and stared at her face as if confronting her. He knew she was human, and noticed that she thought he was too.

“Where is your mommy and daddy? Are you lost?”

“I am lost”, he confirmed, almost whispering. “I can’t find my father”. 

“Oh”, Moriko got up and stretched her hand to him. “Let me help you find him. What is his name?” 

“Lord Sesshoumaru…”, Seijin was impressed with Moriko’s manners. They reminded a bit of Rin, and at the same time, it wasn’t as intimidating, because she was also a kid. “Th-thank you”

Moriko took him to an abandoned house in the village. It was the only place nobody lived in. Master Ungai was still performing constant exorcisms to clear the place of evil spirits that supposedly remained there. But Moriko wasn’t particularly afraid of that. She made the base under the construction become her secret hideout. Seijin and her squeezed under the house to find Moriko’s own leisure room. 

“This is where I go when I am sad. You can stay here if you want. I don’t think my mom would like it if I brought a stranger home, and I fear my brother might beat you”.

Seijin’s stomach poked him and made noises. He didn’t have the courage to say he was hungry. He was only glad that Moriko, a human, helped him. They said their names to each other before she left.

“I have to go back now. I swear I will bring you food when I come back and I will ask about your father. Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine”.

In the morning, Moriko was called to have breakfast with her family. Hayashi was already pulling her hair, asking where she had gone at night. He had heard her and noticed she took long to come back. Their parents ignored their silly fight, as always. Siblings should find their own solutions for discussions. When the boy calmed down, Moriko finally asked her father:

“Where can a sir called Sesshoumaru be found, daddy?”

Hinata choked on his soup. “Sesshoumaru?!? Where have you learned that name?”

Moriko blushed and got confused. She didn’t know what was wrong with it. Her mother, Naoko, had a clue. “She must have listened to Master Ungai’s stories. He had one dangerous encounter with that demon”.

“Demon?”, she asked, naively. “Is Sesshoumaru a demon?”

“Yes, sweetheart”, Hinata caressed the top of her head. “Lord Sesshoumaru is one of the most dangerous and vile youkai out there. He almost got Master Ungai and his disciples killed! He is also known for bewitching and abducting children, just as young as you are”.

Moriko was struck by the news. Seijin was the son of Sesshomaru. Seijin was, therefore, also a demon. She didn’t know what to do. She had never seen a demon before because she had always stayed between the walls of the village. Seijin didn’t seem dangerous to her at all. How could an evil and feared youkai like Lord Sesshoumaru have a son that was so sweet and friendly? Something didn’t make sense in her parent’s version of the facts, and Moriko was determined to find out what her own thoughts on demons were. She bet no one had ever met a demon kid. 

While no one was looking, Moriko stole leftovers of her family’s meal and went running back to her secret spot. Seijin was sleeping and was awaken by the sound of Moriko reaching to the place. She opened the bundle of cloth she brought. 

“I didn’t know what you liked, so I got a bit from everything we had”.

“Thank y-you”, Seijin answered, quite dryly. 

Moriko noticed then his bright golden eyes and sharp teeth while he ate. “Why didn’t you tell me your dad is a demon?”

Still, with his mouth full, he replied. “So what? I’m a demon too”.

“I know that”, she took a deep breath. “The warriors of this village KILL demons. You are not safe here”.

“My father will come for me, I know that. He will find me”.

Moriko stayed there watching her guest simply devour all the food. She has never seen someone with such appetite. Maybe that was another trait that differ humans from youkai. Still curious about him and his family, she kept on her questionnaire.

“Is your dad evil? Does he attack humans?”

“Evil? No!”, Seijin kind of screamed. “He is a hero. I’ve only met two humans, so I don’t know… But he kills a lot of demons, the bad ones, who want to fight him and take his place as a lord”.

Moriko was amazed. She had never heard anyone from the village mention a youkai as a hero. Who better than a son to talk accurately about his own father?

“Who’s the other human you’ve met?”, the girl was curious. 

“Her name is Rin. She spends a lot of time near father. I don’t like when she does that”.

Moriko blushed once more. Seijin probably didn’t understand still the nature of that relationship. She was also in shock - “Wait a second… Your father has a human candidate?”

“What is a candidate?”, Seijin asked, while slurping more food. 

“Well, uh…”, Moriko didn’t know much herself, but it was something she often heard in the village. “When a man and a woman have affection for each other and have plans to get married, that makes them candidates”.

“My mother isn’t like that with father”, Seijin remembered, but couldn’t connect the dots still. “Mother is strong and angry, just like father. Rin is weak and smiles too much”.

“My mom says opposites attract one another. I guess that’s what she meant by that”, she smiled and again it reminded of Rin. Seijin realized that could be a human thing, to be smiley and excessively kind, even though he still thought that was weird. 

What an unfortunate girl Moriko was. Hayashi, her brother, had followed her and seen Seijin. As he was a boy and a little older, demon slayers filled his head with stories about the danger of youkai. He was worried about his sister, being abducted by one little demon under the abandoned house. The eleven year old boy had also heard everything. The red haired demon child was just not any demon, he was the son of Sesshoumaru, the one who once threatened the life of Master Ungai. Hayashi ran towards the temple, in search of the monk.

Like a marathoner, the youngster crossed the huts and houses, and literally stepped on Shippou’s tail, who called him out. 

“Be careful, Hayashi! I thought I made clear we are not enemies”.

“You are a liar! You let another demon come inside. I am going to tell everything to Master Ungai!”, the boy pulled the tongue at him and ran away. 

“Hayashi, no! Wait! I don’t know what you mean…”, instead of keep arguing, Shippou thought it was best to sneak and follow Hayashi. What was he talking about? Letting another demon inside? Investigate was a must.

Master Ungai couldn't rule out the possibility, even though listening to children wasn't the smartest thing to do. He believed that the ominous power that made him tremble was because of that intruder, but Seijin wasn't old enough nor strong enough to relate with such aura. The presence that he was really looking for was of Wang Lin Zhu, the chinese dragon which Sesshoumaru met. Little Moriko nothing could do to protect her friend. Ungai pulled Seijin up from the hair bun, and casted spells that didn't allow him to move or escape. It was very painful, so he growled and cried. Ungai was taking him to his temple, to purge him away from the land of the living.

Shippou went right back to Rin, who was accompanied by Kohaku and Suzuna. Breathless, but determined, he told them what he saw.

“I am sure it was him! He had a crescent moon on his forehead!”

On the other hand, villagers and slayers came looking for their leader.

“Lady Suzuna! A huge demon was spotted coming our way! We must prepare for battle!”

“Shippou, we are going to help Suzuna!”, exclaimed Kohaku.

“Wait, what about Rin?”, Shippou asked, but Rin had already gone off to the temple, to save Seijin. 

Suzuna was worried about master Ungai as well. He should have sensed the demon’s presence before anyone else, but he seemed focused on the little boy that Rin had lost. It was known to her the history of Ungai against Sesshoumaru, but she didn't understand how could the monk ignore such bigger threat to deal with a demon child, who was, first of all, harmless and innocent. Suzuna wanted to go after Rin and confront Ungai, but there was no time for that, she had to protect her village, and Kohaku was right there to assist her, with the help of trained slayers. Kohaku changed his mind and sent Shippou after Rin, to ensure nothing bad happened. The fox youkai hesitated, and that had cost him a lot of time already. 

Rin ignored all the chaos around her. Women and children were rushed into stronger built houses, and some families preferred abandoning the village to get away. They didn’t even see what the enemy looked like, and they surely did not want to. The temple was steady like a rock, it seemed like there was nothing wrong. It was supposed to be a place of peace and spirituality, but in that moment, Rin could only associate it with terror and bitterness. There was nothing holy about it. The entrance hall and altar were empty and silent, which was awkward enough. In her bare feet, Rin ended up stomping on a different floor material, while searching the temple. It was a hidden door that led below ground level. It was like Ungai had a private dungeon there. She transpassed an invisible barrier, and suddenly things started to get too real. The magic barrier was made to masquerade a ritual that was taking place, and to deafen the sound of Seijin’s screams. The demon boy was surrounded by stakes and staffs dotted with magical properties. An aura emanated from them, causing Seijin pain, while the monk sat in front of him, praying. He was literally destroying Seijin, little by little. Rin interrupted him with a scream. 

“LET HIM GO! NOW!”

Ungai opened one eye and prompted the question. “Who are you? What are you doing here? He’s a dangerous demon, thus he must die”. 

Tears of anger and fear rolled down her face, so she put her hand over the hilt of her newly acquired weapon and threatened: “If you want to kill him, you have to deal with me first!”

Annoyed and intrigued by the lady, Ungai got up, walked towards Rin, and looked well at her. He slowly remembered where he had seen that face before. Seconds after, the monk’s eyes widened up in surprise and anxiety. “You… I remember you! You’re that little girl that chose to follow a demon, years ago! Child, what has he done to you?”, he grabbed her shoulders, as if to attest that it was really her, in flesh and bone, alive and well. “Don’t tell me you’re still faithful to him!”

Rin shook herself off of him, jumped back and pointed her blade at him, shaking. She didn’t want to hurt anyone. She only wanted Seijin safe. “I’m more faithful than I ever was!”, she snarled. “Stop what you’re doing and give Seijin back to me!”

The monk looked back to Seijin for a second and shook his head in denial, as if realizing something. “Of course… This wretched creature… Is actually Lord Sesshoumaru’s spawn. How could I miss that? The moon on the forehead and those markings. It all makes sense! You poor child… Must have been so young when you had him. That monster raped you, can’t you see?”, he got close to her again.

Rin rose Soruteika up towards Ungai’s neck. She could feel the blade drawing energy from her, but she had a hard time remembering the right words to make it work. Rin was panicking and couldn’t stand watching Seijin suffer any longer. Luckly for him, the distraction provided by Rin diminished the strength of the aura that kept him stuck. He was trying desperately to get out.

Meanwhile Rin cried, but refused to swallow her pride and spat words on Ungai’s face. “Seijin’s not my son… But I will protect him and love him as if he had always been!”

Master Ungai looked disgusted and his mood was swinging into something dangerous and scary. “YOU. ARE. BEYOND. SALVATION”. You must die too, my child!”, he yelled and slapped Soruteika out of Rin’s hand. Then he jumped over her and attempted to strangle her with his bare hands. That was when Seijin finally broke free from the spell. The demon boy shot across the room and headbutted the monk. If he wasn’t weakened by the struggle he had been through, he would have thrown Ungai against the wall. At least he could stop him from suffocating Rin, who crawled after Soruteika. The blade was glowing. 

Ungai unveiled another staff and swung it strongly upon Seijin, casting another spell. Having learned and practised how to use his bracelets since he first got them, Sesshoumaru’s heir finally had found the right words: “YOKEZEN!”

A reddish globe was formed around Seijin, as he kneeled, keeping both arms flexed, above his head. The monk’s weapon was forcing in the barrier, but he couldn’t break it. Even though, Seijin wasn’t sure how long he would hold on.  
When he was on the verge of submitting, the monk dropped his staff. 

“TAMASHII MIERU!”

It was Rin, who had retrieved her dagger and planted it inside his back. She didn’t know she was able of doing such thing. In that moment also, Shippou had finally found them, and witnessed the scene. He saw Ungai trying to kill Seijin and Rin stabbing him to prevent that from happening. The monk fell on his knees and turned around, slowly, to face Rin while he agonized. He said no words, because he couldn’t. He’d only grab her feet, cough, and gasp. That terrified Rin. From the wound on his body, a ball of light came out of him and floated above the corpse. It was his soul, like the ones Kikyou used to feed on to survive her ghostly condition, back then. The light of the monk’s spirit vanished right after that. It was done. Master Ungai was dead. 

Shippou hopped in, and had no words to comfort neither judge Rin for what she did. It was clearly self defense. Rin collected Soruteika, began to cry, and hugged the fox demon. “Oh, Shippou… What have I done?!”

“I’m sorry you had to do this, Rin. You had no other choice. He was going to kill you and Sesshoumaru’s son”, said Shippou, trying to be useful. “C’mon, we have get out of this village, before…”

CRASH!

It seemed like a bomb had hit the ground, and shook everything, as if there was an earthquake. Shippou, Rin, and Seijin, left the temple before it collapsed. The air was dirty and dusty. They weren’t able to view more than a few inches of distance ahead. Rin held Seijin’s hand and promised she would get him out of there. He clinged on her and trusted her. He needed no more proof of her worth or her strength. She was a mortal woman and she has killed for him. Once the dust had settled, it revealed a giant creature, lying across the whole extension of the village and everywhere around it. It was Wang Lin Zhu, the chinese dragon. He was still breathing. The group of three had nowhere to go and find shelter. They were at the mercy of the next moves of the monster youkai, the demon slayers, and Sesshoumaru, who was heading towards the village at the speed of light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New to this fic? Or simply missed it?  
> Tell me what you like about this chapter!  
> See ya again soon!


	27. The perfect killer and perfect lover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter Sesshoumaru gets to defeat Wang Lin Zhu and we have a pretty hot scene between him and Rin. Seijin also begins to bond with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you for having my back and keep reading this fic! We have a lot more to come!

“Well, Rin, can you kill this one?”, asked Shippou, with legs trembling.

“We’ve gotta get out of here!”, rushed Rin, as she took a weakened Seijin in her arms. 

Wang Lin Zhu started to reestablish himself and cackled devilishly. His body was so long he could wrap it around the whole extension of the village. Everyone was surrounded: hidden villagers, demon slayers, and the trio, exposed. One swipe and a bit of strength was able to kill everyone in sight. The monstrous dragon has suffered cuts and injuries from the slayers’ weapons, but it wasn’t enough. He was still strong and felt no pain. When Rin thought she and her dear ones would be squashed by the creature, a bolt of light passed through and carried them away. Rin, Shippou and Seijin landed a few miles in the forest. Their saviour revealed himself.

“Sesshoumaru!”, Rin cheered. 

“Father!”, Seijin shed tears of joy.

Shippou felt intimidated when the Lord of the West stared straight into his eye. “I will protect them”.

Sesshoumaru parted as soon as he appeared. He was heading back to defeat Wang Lin Zhu. Shippou insisted on going somewhere safe. Rin pointed to a hill and they headed its way. She needed to watch the battle. She wouldn’t miss seeing her man in action for nothing in this world. The village soldiers got confused when Sesshoumaru appeared to fight the threatening youkai. Arrows were pointed both at him and the other enemy. For them, it didn’t make a difference. A demon was a demon and all had to be eradicated. Kohaku pleaded to Suzuna not to let them go for Sesshoumaru.

“It’s useless attempting to fight him! And he’s not here to kill us, it’s the opposite! You have to trust me, Suzuna. He has come to save this village. He’s the Lord of these lands, it is his duty to protect it from invaders”.

“I trust you, Kohaku”, Suzuna put her forehead against her lover’s. “Slayers! Put your spears away from Sesshoumaru! Our enemy is the dragon, not him!”

Still, some men questioned her authority. One of them was Hinata, father of Moriko, the little girl who befriended Seijin in secrecy. “He will kill us if we don’t kill him first, milady!”.

“No”, interrupted Kohaku. “He will spare our lives if we keep out of his way. I’ve known him for years. Please, believe me”.

“If he wanted to kill us, Hinata, do you think he would wait this much to do it?”, Suzuna confronted him. He couldn’t fight that argument. “We have to help him. We have to protect our village!”.

Hinata signed positively with his head. “Whatever you say, milady”.

Suzuna and Kohaku planned on loosening the grip the dragon had around the village walls, by cutting through the scales and skin. While the humans got busy on that, Sesshoumaru was doing his best to keep Wang Lin Zhu’s mouth away from the village. One blow of his powers would bring the population to end. The chinese entity was shooting everywhere but the ground, which was good. Sick and tired of the slayers slashing his skin, he finally swung his tail, throwing about ten of them across the forest. The ones that hit the trees with their backs died. A few lucky men used their weapons to land safely or at least didn’t break too many bones. 

That was when Sesshoumaru drew the line. “Coward. Why don’t you pick on someone your size?”, he menaced. Bakusaiga didn’t work against the thick scales. He needed more of Wang Lin Zhu’s flesh exposed to unleash his sword’s ultimate power. The only way to slice that damned creature into pieces was by assuming his true form.

The slayers of the village fell back, on their butts or on their knees, when Sesshoumaru’s transformation took place. Rin knew that was the real Lord Sesshoumaru, and she was aware of what he could do, although she had never have seen it, after all that time. Giant dog Sesshoumaru was more than a youkai. He was a god. His moves and attacks were limited. If he used poison to melt the dragon’s flesh, there was big chance that the hidden villagers would perish as well, because of the dangerous and acid gas that came with it. Brute strength was everything he could count on. Wang Lin Zhu was definitely surprised, which made him angrier than he already was. He wrapped his body around Sesshoumaru’s and began to squeeze him. Rin screamed in despair, watching from afar. Seijin was crying, but he had faith his father would win. 

When everything was thought to be lost, Jaken, who was riding Ah-Un, came hovering down from the skies, with his staff spitting fire down on Wang Lin Zhu, and Ah-Un’s both heads also spat fire on the enemy. 

“Take that, pathetic worm!”, yelled Jaken, brave enough to help his master. “Lord Sesshoumaru, please, don’t die!”

Wang Lin Zhu soon got close enough to Jaken and Ah-Un, and opened his big mouth, ready to blast them both from existence. Given a miraculous queue, Sesshoumaru emerged from the twisted scales and jumped at the dragon’s head and grabbed his neck with his teeth, sinking them into the flesh. The powerful ball of light that once blew Sesshoumaru didn’t fire at Jaken. It got stuck in Wang Lin Zhu’s throat, squeezed by the giant dog youkai, and exploded right there. The dragon was carbonized by its own attack, and none of it lasted to tell history. Sesshoumaru was panting, still in his dog form, and drooling blood. Scared, the slayers pointed their arrows and weapons at him again. He was already beaten up and tired, so they thought they could take him down. Kohaku and Suzuna begged them not to.

“Don’t shoot!”, screamed Rin, running towards the daiyoukai. 

Sesshoumaru noticed her agitation and turned to face her. He was snarling at her. His red eyes were intimidating. Jaken appeared behind her and pulled her thin kimono silk, trying to draw her away. 

“Rin! Milord doesn’t recognize anyone in his true form! We must leave!”, he pleaded.

“No, master Jaken. I can’t leave him. He will come back to himself, you will see”.

Sesshoumaru was still threatening to attack her and the village inhabitants. Seijin, who was told to stay put and unseen by the slayers, couldn’t stand being away from his father any longer. Ignoring the danger, he speeded towards the giant dog and grabbed his puffy chest fur, also tainted with blood.

“Father!”

“Seijin…”, Rin murmured.

His son’s embrace was all it took to make Seshoumaru come back to his senses and transform back to his humanoid form. Everyone breathed in relief, more or less. Even so, it was hard to process or believe there was a family involved in the middle of that youkai mess. They have always learned that demons are lonely, senseless, among other myths. The Lord of the West held his heir close, like a dedicated parent.  
“I thought I was never going to see you again”, admitted Seijin.

“Never run away again”, asked Sesshoumaru, rubbing his nose on the boy’s hair once, subtly. 

Seijin shed a tear, and in his heart, he promised not to do such thing ever again. Rin approached them, but was afraid that Seijin was jealous of them. Sesshoumaru sensed it wasn’t the smartest thing to be affectionate to her so soon, after everything that happened. He was also against of showing it off in public. There were many people there, and more emerged, as their were rescued from the hideouts. 

Rin briefly held her lover’s hand. Seijin looked at Rin differently from before. He literally made her go through hell to save him, his feelings for her were confused. The boy owned her a minimum of respect and credit for still being alive.

“Rin saved me from a bad human”.

“Did you?”, he questioned, surprised.

Rin broke down in tears in front of them. “I had to use Soruteika. I didn’t have a choice…”

Sesshoumaru wiped her tears with his little finger. “Who was it?”

Rin took his hand and they headed to the ruins of the village’s temple. Meanwhile, Suzuna checked on her beloved sister and family. Serina, her husband, and baby were fine. Then, she and Kohaku began calling on Master Ungai. Shippou was already feeling sick of the stomach, he didn’t know how the villagers would react when they learned Rin killed their monk. The villagers automatically began digging what was left of the holy construction. Rin helped, because she felt it was her duty. Sesshoumaru didn’t understand what was her purpose in aiding people to find the person who nearly killed his son and Rin herself. He had never had felt remorseful for the ones he had taken the life, because he always knew they deserved it. Suzuna screamed and moaned when Ungai was found. She kneeled and grabbed his body, covered with dust from the demolished temple. Sesshoumaru eyed the dead monk and got short of breath for a second. He recognised him. Rin could tell her lover was surprised. Not even in his wild dreams he would imagine Rin and Ungai fighting each other. He held her hand again, tighter. Seijin was falling asleep over his shoulder. Of course, this was especially tiresome to him, as he suffered in the monk’s hands.

“Master Ungai has been murdered!”, one of the slayers shouted, spotting the mark of the stab in his back. Suzuna was in shock. “Who could do such thing?”

Kohaku looked straightly at Rin. He could feel it was her the author of the crime, but he wished she hadn’t revealed it. “I did. I killed him.”

The slayers approached Rin, with anger in their eyes and ready to avenge Ungai. Sesshoumaru intervened and showed them his green glowing claw. He could tore their hands and feet apart in seconds if he wanted. They held their positions, trembling in fear. Kohaku also stood in her defense, while Suzuna could only ask her why, melting in tears. 

“There should never be an explanation for killing someone”, began Rin. “Ungai had abducted Seijin, an innocent demon boy, who got lost from us. I came to the village looking for him, and Ungai had him. He was torturing Seijin when I found them. He refused to let him go, and attacked me”.  
“I saw it when it happened. She’s telling the truth!”, added Shippou.

“Why should we believe you? We don’t know you!”, Hinata threatened her again. 

Hinata’s little daughter, Moriko, ran and grabbed her father’s legs. “Don’t hurt Seijin, daddy!”

The other villagers began to murmur, trying to figure out what was going on. 

“I found him last night. I hid him and brought him food.”, the girl admitted. “Master Ungai took him away. He was angry, and said that he was a vile creature that would kill us all.” 

“Meanwhile, the real danger was out there, and he was busy exorcising a little kid”, Kohaku stood forward. Suzuna felt confronted with everything she had learnt with Ungai. She couldn’t simply forget what he meant to her and all the other villagers. 

“He made a big mistake”, concluded Suzuna. “But I don’t blame him. He made me who I am. He built this place. He provided a safe home for all families that live here. Kohaku, you showed not all demons are evil. I have proof now, after what Lord Sesshoumaru did to save us. However, nothing explains why that dragon attacked our village.”

“He came from another land, far from here”, Sesshoumaru finally spoke. “Maybe his tribe wants to take this territory, after you made fame by extinguishing entire youkai populations”.

Rin remembered Shiho, the sword smith apprentice that Totosai took as pupil. She was all alone because of the new slayers.

“From now on, we won’t kill unless necessary.”, announced Suzuna. “But I can’t accept what you did to Master Ungai, Rin, at least not yet.”

“I didn’t have a choice, milady.”, Rin cried. Sesshoumaru grabbed her shoulder and pulled her closer. The villagers were intrigued the nature of their relationship. They didn’t think it was possible. 

“Just leave. I have work to do. Dead bodies to bury, prayers to make, walls to rebuild. Just go on your way, please”, asked Suzuna. 

“Goodbye, Rin”, Kohaku gave her a hug. “Good luck with your life. I hope Sesshoumaru’s worth it.”

“He is.”, she replied, serious. Sesshoumaru didn’t waste any time. Jaken and Ah-Un joined and started their walk to the way out. Rin followed, still sad. 

The little girl Moriko chased them, carrying a basket. Her father ran after her, but he was tired from the battle. It was a pity Seijin was asleep and couldn’t say goodbye to his friend. She gave Rin the basket. It had food in it.

“Don’t eat it. This is for Seijin.”, she insisted. 

Rin giggled, and smiled at Moriko. “Thank you… And I’m sorry.”

“Moriko! Step away from them!”, shouted Hinata. 

Moriko didn’t say anything, and obeyed her father. She knew what Sesshoumaru was, what Seijin was. They were demons. She knew what Rin had just become: a murderer. Yet, Moriko couldn’t hate them, or be scared of them. She learned the truth in her own way, there was still hope for her. 

The rain that fell in the afternoon was a sign. The earth became easier to manipulate and dig holes for the dead. Kohaku did most of the work himself, he wasn’t as shaken or injured as the rest of the villagers. Suzuna hadn’t talked to him the whole time. She was hurt because Kohaku defended Rin, but something inside told her that her fiancé was right. He had known Rin for a very long time. It was tough to admit that the way she had always lived, the things she was taught, everything about her lifestyle, was modeled to serve an ideal that Ungai believed. He wanted to destroy all demons and let the human kind reign. She failed to see that demons were, for the most part, like everyone else. She had killed demon children before. Her whole lot of demon slayers had committed atrocities since the foundation of their village. Suzuna wasn’t refusing Rin’s explanations, she was, in fact, struggling to forgive herself for her actions. 

Kohaku loved Suzuna regardless of what she had done. He had been that road before. Naraku made him kill many people, and still, he was forgiven by his sister and his friends. That evening, Kohaku decided to tell his story to his beloved Suzuna. She had to know she wasn’t alone. Serina and Yuto also came to a decision, even though they were contested by the other villagers. Their newborn daughter had been give the name “Tenseiga”. Tenseiga was the name of the sword who revived their baby, it was very appropriate. If they had more children, whether it will be a boy or another girl, they would name it “Rin”. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Under an unbelievably large tree, Ah-Un, Jaken, Sesshoumaru, Seijin, and Rin, sheltered from the heavy rain. They have been warned a strong rainy season was coming. Sesshoumaru hoped they would be back by then, but all misunderstandings and Seijin’s getaway slowed them down. Even so, the Lord Of The West couldn’t be bothered. Everyone he loved and cared for were there, by his side. Seijin was still resting, with his body against his father’s and head over his shoulder. He was simply unable to let him go. Rin thought that was adorable. It was not often that Sesshoumaru noticed how much he had to lose. He committed that mistake with her so many times, when she was a kid. 

“You weren’t this caring when I was little”, she pointed out, curious.

“He’s blood of my blood. And you…”, he stopped, clueless of what to say.

“What was I, Lord Sesshoumaru?”, her eyes sparked, while looking at him.

He inclined his face away. “I don’t know what you were, Rin, but I am glad time and fate has taken care of that.”

“I think I’ve never seen you acting so romantic.”, Rin gave a peck on his cheek. 

Sesshoumaru smirked. “It’s your fault.” He said, as he returned the kiss, on her lips.

Rin grabbed his free arm and glued even closer together. Her expression turned cold and sad all of a sudden. “There is something I’ve been avoiding to talk about with you. You probably know already.”

Sesshoumaru waited for her statement calmly.

“I’ve had two relationships before you, my Lord… And in one of them, I got further than I wanted to…”

“Elaborate, Rin.”, he asked, maintaining his tone.

“When I was traveling, as a musician, last year, I got involved with a member of the orchestra I was part of.” Rin’s lips trembled. “I shared the bed with him.”

“And that means…”

“We had sex.”

Silence followed for a couple of minutes, until Sesshoumaru shook his head.

“Why were you afraid to tell such thing?”

“I thought that could discourage you about tying the knot with me”, she shyed away.

“Come on, Rin. Don’t be foolish. I have a son. Do you think I care?”, he raised an eyebrow. Rin blushed. He kissed her eagerly, but almost woke Seijin up in the process. 

Fearful, but decided, he put the boy down, near Jaken and Ah-Un. He was warm enough, he would be fine. He got up and expected Rin to do the same. 

“Lord Sesshoumaru, where you going?”, Jaken desperately asked him.

“Quiet, Jaken. If you wake Seijin up I’ll kill you.”

The imp servant covered his mouth, suppressing his terrified scream. Rin giggled. Even though it was harsh from Sesshoumaru to threaten Jaken every now and then, she couldn't help but laugh. The worse he did was always smacking him in the head. 

“Follow me, Rin.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Rin often thought about for how long would she have to address to him as lord. Sesshoumaru never told her call him like that when she came back. It was automatic. And also he had never told her to stop. He would never be just Sesshoumaru… He was a lord of the land and he was the owner of her heart. 

Sesshoumaru dragged her into the forest. It was still raining. A cave appeared on their sight, hidden. It felt as if he was the only one who knew about it. It was warm inside. She wondered why he wouldn't bring everyone in already and protect them from the weather. That was quite inconsiderate from his part. The best thing about the cave was the hot spring it held inside. 

“Why don’t we call the others?”, asked Rin.

“Not right now.”, he answered, dryly.

Rin was clueless. “Why?”

Sesshoumaru would never tell Rin to undress. He got rid of his own clothes first. It was the first time she had her eyes on his full figure, completely naked. His body was like a sculpture. Perfect. Balanced. Muscular. He entered the hot spring and watched Rin. 

“Lord Sesshoumaru… What are your plans?”, she was blushing hard.

“You won't know, unless…”, he grinned. 

“You don't want to wait until we have a ceremony?”, Rin hesitated. She didn't know what she was afraid of. 

Sesshoumaru sighed. “I won't do anything you don't want.”

Rin stripped off like a flower sheds its petals during summer. She was pale, but not as much as him. She was thin, but gracious, and covered her breasts with her hands. Rin didn't like them because they were too little. It was almost as if she was flat. She envied Kagome and Sango for their big stuff. Sesshoumaru didn't care. He loved her and her features as they were. 

It was so rare for Sesshoumaru to express himself sexually that it felt awkward to Rin to share such an intimate moment. She didn't go too deep in the hot spring, and stayed in a spot where the water was at the height of her waist. Without any warning, Sesshoumaru charged after her, surprising with a hot and passionate kiss. Rin seemed to have lost her senses, because finally she was feeling her lover's skin… With her own skin. Sesshoumaru kissed, licked, and nibbled every ounce of her flesh. Mouth, neck, collarbone, then chest. Rin swooned, and grabbed Sesshoumaru, caressing him with the tender touch of her fingers, squeezing him sometimes. 

“Do me, Lord Sesshoumaru”, she pleaded, already feeling her legs weak. “Please.”

“Not completely”, he specified, leading his eyes on hers. Sesshoumaru’s expression was soft. He was mesmerized, and very in love. 

“What do you mean?”

Sesshoumaru dragged her to the edge of the spring, and slowly lied her down on the stony ground. It was cold. 

“Remember THAT night?”

THAT night when Rin gave him a blowjob? How could she forget? THAT night was a bliss. Rin nodded, as Sesshoumaru moved his mouth down on her body. 

“I want to do to you what you did to me.”

It was like all her senses had shut down when Sesshoumaru kissed her thighs. There was no sound, and her eyes could not see. If there was a way to die from anticipation, she would be already done with existence. The youkai’s tongue devoured Rin’s intimacy, and finally satisfied her bottled feelings and frustrations. He was hers and she was his. Their joy in connecting with themselves wasn’t as enduring as they wished. Even though, the time was sufficient for Rin to squirm, moan, and lose herself in climax. 

“Put your clothes on, Rin.”, he said, rushing and getting of the water all of a sudden. 

The young woman was still coming back to herself. “W-What…?”

“Jaken, Seijin, and Ah-Un have found us.”, affirmed Sesshoumaru, smelling their scent.

Rin grabbed her stuff and started to dress up as quick as she could. “How did they?”

When the youkai trio entered the same space in the cave, Sesshoumaru was still shirtless and Rin was tying her obi on the back of her kimono. Both of their hairs were messy. To Jaken the previous scenes lived by the couple were more than obvious. He squinted his huge eyes and looked at them as if with disgust. 

“Lord Sesshoumaru, how could you?! And you too, Rin!”

Seijin was still crawling with his nose down on the ground. He was find the trail that led directly to his father. 

“I found you with my nose!”, Seijin cheered, revealing that he did all the tracking by himself. It made Sesshoumaru glad, that he had such a fast recovery. “You have her smell all over you.”, the boy observed, but he couldn’t connect the dots. 

Rin and Sesshoumaru stared at each other briefly. She blushed and laughed. Surprisingly, Seijin went to Rin, to stay near her. He didn’t say anything, but touched her hand and looked at her right in the eye. That was some progress. Sesshoumaru was pleased with it. He hoped Seijin would grow to like Rin better everyday, and accept her. She had gone beyond the limits of right and wrong to save him. 

 

“Are you hungry, Seijin?”, Rin asked him. He moved his head affirmatively. Rin opened fetched Moriko’s gift on Ah-Un’s saddle. “Your friend Moriko told me to give you this. I am sorry you couldn’t say goodbye.”

Rin wasn’t expecting that Seijin would jump on her and give her a hug. Seijin also didn’t know where did he get the courage. It was probably Moriko, who was his first legitimate example of how good humans can be. He had misjudged Rin, but now he knew how she was really like. Seijin ate everything in a minute and burped. 

“I wanna play. Let’s play, father!”

Sesshoumaru didn’t question him. He got up and held hands with his son. 

“Sesshoumaru”, called Rin. “Aren’t you tired? You’ve just fought a dragon…”

“I’ll find food and come back. Jaken will gather wood and set a fire meanwhile.”

“I can spit fire, father, did you forget?”, Seijin mumbled. Yes, Sesshoumaru has forgotten that detail.

“Yes, sire! Your wish is an order!”, the imp bowed to his master.

“I will go with Jaken”, Rin decided. “Ah-Un stays, and takes care of our cave.”

The beast lied down against a cold wall of the cave and prepared himself to sleep. The following day they would travel by air, flying on his back, and would arrive in the village were Inuyasha, Kagome and the others lived still during the day. Sesshoumaru didn’t show it, but he was rather anxious. Had they barely gotten alive from a village of slayers, there would he establish his son’s new home in a human village again. He was looking forward to capture Inuyasha’s reaction when he learned about Seijin. The hanyou was so full of himself, bragging about having an heir, the first grandson of Inu no Taishou. He was wrong. Seijin wasn’t planned at all, that was true, but his unexpected appearance would serve well for a purpose: to break that superior smile of Inuyasha’s face. Seijin was his son, and he was the first grandson to their father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you think Inuyasha and his friends will react when they see Seijin?
> 
> I tried making a bigger chapter. I am not very good with long ones, but I am making an effort. I'm still in college and it is hard to conceal my fanfictions with my study. I hope you understand. Thanks for the support! I hope this fic is not letting you down!


	28. Welcome back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How was the reception of Rin with Sesshoumaru and Seijin, back in the village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, the lazy writer is back with another chapter. I confess it was very hard, that's why it is smaller than the others.

The priestess Kagome was by herself in the village’s temple, praying to the ashes of Kaede, the priestess that preceded her. Some tough reflections came to her mind that morning. 

“Dear Kaede, you are greatly missed. I think of you when I search for wisdom, to always have the best solution to the various problems that afflict these villagers and everybody else I encounter, who need my help. I look inside myself seeking strength and skill, to defeat bad spirits and clean households. I pray to the good entities to help me keep my baby safe, and aid me in my journey through motherhood. I can’t help but to think about Kikyou lately. If she and Inuyasha hadn’t been deceived, she would be happily married to him, and I bet they would have had children. Well, now here we are. If you are listening, Kikyou, wherever you are, I want you to know that Inuyasha is happy. His legacy will be passed on, as well as yours will too, because you are a part of me, after all.”

Some bare footsteps were heard, stepping in the wooden floor of the temple. Kagome glanced back at her tall red dressed companion. 

“Inuyasha, you’re here.”

He got to her side and sat down, staring at the altar where Kaede’s ashes rested, inside a vase. Kikyou’s remains were buried outside, but stolen by the witch called Urasue. Still, a sign in her memory stood in the place. Before Kaede’s ashes were put in the altar, a sacred object used to occupy the spot, but only for a brief period of time. 

“You never joined me in my prayers before.”, noted Kagome, still kneeled in the correct position. Inuyasha lazily crossed his legs and stared at the altar, kind of lost in his thoughts. 

“I don’t like coming inside this temple.”, he confessed. “I have bad memories from it.”

“When you stole the Shikon Jewel, right?”

“Yea…”, he took a deep breath and yawned. “Don’t work too much, okay?”

Kagome smiled, leaned to his side and kissed him. Inuyasha kissed her back and placed his hand over her obi. He notices a shy, tiny baby bump. “It’s taking too long to grow.”

Kagome giggles. “Patience, Inuyasha. It will take some time.”

“Let’s get out of here, please. I could use some company during today’s patrol.”  
The couple left the temple holding hands. Ten years before they would never imagine this future was possible. They were so young, so stubborn. There was too much going on as well. Kagome’s pregnancy was another force pushing themselves forward, free from that devious, difficult past. Since Kagome decided to be with Inuyasha their motto has been “toward tomorrow”. Was there something ever more centered in the tomorrow than a baby? Inuyasha doubted that. He was committed and he was in love with the idea of being a father.

Sango and Miroku were preparing for a small feast. It was their twin girls’ birthday. Ami and Emi would complete their eleventh year of life. The celebration would take place in the evening. Their wish was already made: having Rin back in time to blow the candles. Kagome had taught them how to celebrate a birthday in the modern era. They loved the idea and have done it like that every year. Sango crafted little decorations made of cloth, flowers, leaves, and little lanterns, to be lit in the evening. Miroku hang them around the living room, following Sango’s order of distribution. The household was looking lovely. They and Ami were too excited about their special day. Tayouchu was too short still and Ikko was just a toddler. The couple paused their preparations for a break. Sango was breastfeeding Batsunan, their youngest. Miroku gently caressed his son’s tiny head.

“I think we’ve had enough babies”, he noted.

“You THINK?”, Sango snarled, and smacked her husband on the head.

They started laughing, but then Miroku lift his head, serious. 

“I’ve just sensed a strong demonic aura. It must be him…”

“Sesshoumaru?”, asked Sango, excited. “I hope Rin’s with him, or else I will kill him myself.” 

Miroku smirked and scratched his head. Sango wasn’t joking. Kagome and Inuyasha rejoiced with them, and called the other couple through the window. 

“Miroku, you’ve felt it too, right?”, Inuyasha wasn’t in his best mood anymore, since it was his brother who was approaching.

“Aren’t you guys happy?!? Rin is back too.”, Kagome thought they were rude only to focus on Sesshoumaru. And Kagome didn’t hold a grudge. “Your brother is not a bad guy, Inuyasha. He’s gotten so much better since he started dating Rin.”

“Yeah, right…”, Inuyasha frowned.

Sango and Miroku’s twins erupted inside the home, jumping from happiness. 

“Mom, dad, I just saw Rin in the village!”

“She’s with that scary demon boyfriend, his little frog servant, Ah-Un, and a strange looking kid.”

Their parents and the other couple exchanged confused and surprised gazes. Who could the child be? Another orphan collected by Sesshoumaru’s hidden good heart?  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Normally, Sesshoumaru would get the attention of people wherever he went. Everybody stopped to look at him, or just froze in place, afraid of him. After Rin came along he noticed a little change in both people and demon’s expressions as he passed by. They were intrigued by the little girl, prancing happily around him. Now, the combination of having his companion plus his own son in the group brought eyes with judgement, expeculations, prejudices. Even for Sesshoumaru, that was a heavy weight to carry. A younger version of himself would pop on his shoulder, calling him terrible things. How did he let this happen? 

“Lord Sesshoumaru? Did you hear I what I said?”

He wasn’t, and Rin figured that. “I have a lot on my mind too. All those eyes staring at us were kind of intimidating. But we have to think of what to say to our friends.”

“Your friends, you mean? Lord Sesshoumaru doesn’t have anything to do with that human scum, he-”

“Shut up, Jaken.”, ordered Sesshoumaru, in a calm and sober tone. 

“Yes, milord.”, the servant shyly cried.

Rin smiled subtly. She knew he didn’t hold as much grudge on her friends as before, and besides, he needed them. It was hard to imagine mighty Sesshoumaru depending on others, however, there was lots on the table and he couldn’t risk his son on behalf of his gigantic pride. Sesshoumaru had plans for Seijin and for Rin. For now, all he could do was that much. In the future, that would hopefully change, for the better. As the couple and their companions approached the crowded home, they saw everyone were already waiting for them. 

“Rin.”, he monotonously called. He gently got Seijin in his arms himself. He intended to enter the house with the kid and place him in a futon, to sleep better.  
“You want me to do the talking?”, she volunteered, as her lover swayed through Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku. They were in shock.

Sesshoumaru’s partner and protégée greeted them all, distributed hugs, complimented Kagome’s developing baby bump, and then began telling her traveling tales, as the youkai sorted himself in Rin’s personal bedroom. He found a futon carefully prepared, preserved. They always knew she would come back. Sesshoumaru found value in it. He laid his son down and covered him with a sheet. The Lord of the West waited, with ears paying attention to the conversation outside. The house was decorated. He figured some sort of celebration would happen later.

“His mother was so scary,”, he heard Rin say. “And then I met this little boy… Seijin.”

Another few seconds, he then heard:

“HE IS WHAT?!?!”, Inuyasha shouted.

“Looks like your baby is not the first grandchild of your legendary father, after all.”, Miroku stated the obvious, in tone of mockery. The hanyou growled, kind of irritated.

Kagome smiled with irony, as she observed Inuyasha’s irritated state. “Imma have a conversation with Sesshoumaru right now! Who does he think he is! He had this planned! He-”

Kagome pinched his fuzzy ears and pulled them, when the hanyou started complaining again he looked back at his woman and cringed. He knew what was coming his way. “INUYASHA, SIT!”

The half demon was still on the ground when Sesshoumaru reappeared outside. Rin, still clung to her old habits, greeted him by bowing down her head and using honorifics. Everybody else didn’t understand why she kept doing so, but didn’t comment. “Lord Sesshoumaru… I hope the noise didn’t bother you, or Seijin’s rest.”

“It hadn’t.” He responded, dryly, and then tenderly put his index finger under Rin’s chin, so she cut off the gesture. They would lock their eyes onto each other’s if it wasn’t too awkward, with The lightness of his body language towards her did not pass unnoticed by the others. Unexpectedly, Sesshoumaru turned to Sango afterwards. He wanted to talk to her, and certainly not in a kind way.

“You are in debt with me, woman”, he stated.

At first Sango was clueless. “How come?”

“You tried to kill Rin.” Sesshoumaru affirmed.

“Sango wouldn’t lay a finger on Rin!”, intervened Miroku.

“Oh…” Sango held her husband’s arm. She was remembering. “I did try to kill Rin once, though. Ten years ago, inside Naraku’s belly, when he turned into a giant spider. He tempted me into doing it, in order to save Kohaku.”

“I can’t stand talking about that bastard”, commented Inuyasha, literally shivering. 

“Me neither”, Kagome held his hand.

“Sesshoumaru spared my life back then. I understand his wish to collect a debt with me”, Sango reasoned. “What do you want, Sesshoumaru?”

He didn’t take long to elaborate his request. “Accept Seijin in your home and in your village, as one of your own, for the time being.”

“It will be a pleasure welcoming a child in my home. I’ll make sure he finds it comfortable.”, Sango offered her hand, for a shake, but quickly dropped it. That would never happen. 

Rin was embarrassed to do so, but she did it anyway. She shook Sango’s hand in Sesshoumaru’s place. “He is surely thankful to you, believe me. You know how he is.”

Right behind Sesshoumaru was Jaken. He wasn’t even a little bit phased. “Pfft. You all that should be thankful to Lord Sesshoumaru, for being so patient with your pathetic kind.” He got punched by his master and the left side of his face instantly swelled up, due to the good smack he got. “I was joking, Lord Sesshoumaru couldn’t be any more thankful!”

Kagome smiled. She knew it was true. Inuyasha was still feeling uneasy with the presence of his older brother. Of course, there was no quarrel between them at the time, but the past was too burdensome to bear. Sesshoumaru attempted to kill him countless times, while Inuyasha severed Sesshoumaru’s arm off in one occasion, and blew him away with Tetsusaiga’s windscar on another. It was hard for the Lord Of The West to redeem from his pride and stay in the village, but he would do anything for Rin and Seijin. On the other hand, Inuyasha found it more difficult to manage his anger. He was younger than Sesshoumaru, he had always been more riled up. And now he had another thing to worry about: Kagome was expecting a baby. Inuyasha wouldn’t think twice in killing someone to protect her. Sesshoumaru understood that. It was a shame Inuyasha just couldn’t realise they were in the same page.

At night, Sango and Miroku held their private celebration for Ami and Emi’s birthday. There were lanterns lit in the living room and the kids were enchanted with their parents decoration. They all wanted it for their birthday celebrations too. The twins made a prayer before the meal was served. They thanked for having such amazing mom and dad, for having three little brothers that they loved, for the time they spent with Kagome and Inuyasha, and they also thanked the return of Rin, plus one more friend to play with. 

Seijin’s awakening let Rin and Sesshoumaru preoccupied. They watched every step he did, afraid that he would hurt one of the other kids or put fire in one of the rooms. Miroku would often tell them to chill, that all kids are the same, but knew nothing. Seijin had never seen any other humans apart from Rin, and like his father, he had skills and powers that could hurt people. From all Miroku and Sango’s children, Tayouchu was the one Seijin had more interest in and talked the most to. It must be because their age gap was smaller, only two years apart. He and three year old Ikko touched his darker skin and poked his youkai markings, asking where he had gotten those.

“I’ve got the markings from father. Wanna see it?”, Seijin naively asked. Tayouchu and Ikko stood in a safe distance from Sesshoumaru while the demon boy simply rolled up the sleeve from his dad’s kimono to show that they had equal markings. He was just so proud to have many things in common with Sesshoumaru. 

“Hey, Seijin, let’s go outside so you can show us how you spit fire!” , asked Emi, at one point.

“No fire.”, Sesshoumaru instantly prohibited. 

Unlike their brothers, Ami and Emi weren’t afraid of Sesshoumaru. They were a little acquainted with the demon lord during their early childhood because of his frequent visits to Rin back then. 

“Please, uncle, it is our birthday.”, pleaded Ami. 

“I will be careful, father, I swear.”, promised Seijin.

Sesshoumaru only let him because he saw an opportunity to teach him something valuable. As all the kids, and their parents as well, got out to see the spectacle, Sesshoumaru stopped the children right after the front door. “Stay there.”, he said, marking a safe spot. He took Seijin by hand to a distance he judged appropriate, kneeled to his level, and said:

“Humans are not like youkai. If they get injured, they will most likely perish and die. You are responsible for your friends lives from now one. If you hurt or kill any human from this village, it’s over.”

Those words were too heavy for a kid like him. He had no idea of how to respond or react, but he listened to his father well, every bit of it. Then, decided to impress his new friends, Seijin took deep breath. The small demon could feel his lungs heating up. He finally blew strong, long, and bright flames out of his mouth. The children applauded and whistled, amazed. They asked him to do it twice more before calling it a day and going to bed.

Everyone was admired by his power, but fearful as well. It was too easy to commit a mistake and hurt somebody. Until then Sesshoumaru had proven to be a good father, but only time would tell if he was destined to be one. Sesshoumaru wasn’t made to settle down and he also was unable to do so. He was a lord, and he had a country to protect, to rule. Rin knew it wouldn’t take long until he did his next errand. She had a feeling that the dragon he fought against was not alone, and she knew it by staring at her lover’s eyes, which were often hovering the skies. Rin could hear him sniffing the air now and then, or watched him simply sitting to meditate and listen to the atmosphere. Sesshoumaru was never in peace. He was always checking if there was something wrong, and most of the time there was. 

Seijin hesitated, but followed his peers upstairs, where all the little ones slept, apart from Batsunan, the baby. He was sleeping with Sango and Miroku, in the same futon. Inuyasha and Kagome had a bedroom of their own, and had been sharing it since forever. Rin had her own room too, but Sesshoumaru had never spent the night in there with her. The first time they actually fell asleep beside each other was during their trip. Rin’s friends were obviously curious about how far she and Sesshoumaru have gone. Sango took her to a corner for an instant and delicately asked:

“Do you need an extra futon and a larger blanket for your bedroom?”

Rin blushed and glanced at Sesshoumaru. He was, of course, listening. Rin could swear he saw him blush, even if it was for a second. “I don’t know, I gotta ask… Lord Sessh-”

“I refuse to sleep in a place where I can feel the stench of Inuyasha.”, the demon surprisingly said, as he quickly turned on his back and found his way out.

Rin was left talking to the walls. She wasn’t expecting such childish response. 

“Coward.”, Inuyasha rapidly reacted.

“It’s alright, Inuyasha.”, Rin said. “Let’s go slow on him. I’m surprised he got this far and spent time with us all.”

“It must be hard to let go of his pride, guys, let’s not pressure him”, suggested Miroku.

When Rin lied down on her futon to sleep, she felt sadness. She thought Sesshoumaru would get over his antisociality to share the bed with her. Now, she realised she was wanting too much of him at once. Maybe, just maybe… One day… Sesshoumaru would feel comfortable with her friends, and more importantly, with his younger brother, Inuyasha. Wanting it or not, his involvement with the ones living in that house was inevitable. Seijin was going to live there. Rin lived there. Kagome was having a baby. And this baby was Inu no Taisho’s grandchild, therefore, his nephew or niece. At least one person was happy not spend the night alone with a two headed beast. Jaken was rooting for Sesshoumaru not giving up sleeping in the forest so soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have plans for the next one! If this compensates for my bad timing, let me share a little spoiler: it will have some tough moments between Seijin and Rin, aaand some sexy moments between her and Sesshy. Let's hope to see some more character development! Until then, readers. Thanks so much for the support. I will keep going.


	29. Better Be Ready For Seijin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is about obstacles in Seijin's way to be accepted in the village, and how this affects Rin. Sesshoumaru is still struggling to opened up and embrace a different way to live, and that could cost his relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I am sorry for updating only every 100 years lol...  
> I don't have any excuse, I just have a natural difficulty to write things in a comfortable pace. I hope this story is still relevant to you. I feel there is a lot for my version of Sesshoumaru to accomplish. Let's keep going, shall we?

Even though Rin had gone back to her friends, she would isolate from them only to be with Sesshoumaru. She knew it was hard for him, but she was hoping that he would make an effort to blend in. Inuyasha would often buzz in her ear that he was an old dog, and that he would never change. Kagome and Sango also warned her not to suffer because of him. It was so difficult to love a demon so much, and yet live a separate life, balancing how much time to spend with him and not miss her own days passing by. Sesshoumaru wasn’t clingy. He loved Rin with all his guts, but watching her getting distant from everything else just to be with him made him ponder if he was the best partner for her. Sesshoumaru used to think it was so simple, that his plans would solve what was bothering him and make his dear ones happy. Rin was changing for him. She learned how to defend herself and his son. And looking now, even Seijin, his own blood, was beginning to loosen up. The demon boy was already playing with human kids manageably well. Of course, there were tough days in which he got a temper, including risk of burns and wildfires, and still, he was on the way to become a well behaved child. 

One day, Rin and Sesshoumaru were making out in the field near their home, their favourite spot. Before there was a blanket of yellow flowers, but now it went back to a itchy high grass plain. While lying down and exchanging caresses, the youkai, out of the blue, said:

“I will leave soon.”

Rin was probably expecting it, for she wasn’t as surprised as Sesshoumaru imagined. “Where to, my lord?”

“There is more than one place to go.”

“Do you want me to ask Jaken?”, Rin knew he was being evasive not to worry her. Sesshoumaru wouldn’t go away only because of their inner tension. There was something else.

Sesshoumaru snarled lowly. His woman knew him too well. “I have to check on the ally demon tribes in the territory. Something powerful is coming.”

“Another dragon? Are we being invaded?”

“Perhaps. Not yet. We’re being watched.”, Sesshoumaru said, and then slipped his hand under Rin’s robe, touching her small breast. They kissed longingly. “I won’t let anything happen to you or Seijin”.

“Lord Sesshoumaru…”, Rin placed her hand upon his. “You shouldn’t let anything happen to your land. I can look after myself now.”

In that moment, Sesshoumaru realised he had made the right choice, and also realised how much Rin had changed. She grew from a scaredy cat who would hide behind his legs to a woman that was capable of killing if necessary. He knew it was a horrible experience for her, having to end the life of another human, but the first kill was always like this. Sesshoumaru feared a war coming up. The fact that humans and youkai massacrated themselves could be taken as an advantage. Sesshoumaru would have to convince both youkai and humans to work together to defeat the enemy, and he couldn’t do that alone. He lacked all the skills needed. He barely could talk to anyone, while Rin did it with such maestry and delicacy. The Lord Of The West wouldn’t marry just for love, and he had to make it clear. A marriage in a royal family has its political purposes as well. Sesshoumaru also knew he couldn’t just make demands, one after the other. If he was to take Rin, he would have to take her with pride. He would have to embrace her lifestyle the same way she had embraced his.

The next day, Sesshoumaru, Jaken and Ah-Un left for their errand. Seijin was broken hearted. 

“I thought he was going to stay with me, play with me!”, he cried and raged. “I am going to find him!”

Rin kneeled down to his level, and hugged him close. “Seijin, he will come back soon. Be patient. I will miss him too.”

Seijin wasn’t in the mood for hugs, and pushed Rin, who fell sitting on the floor. Sango and Miroku were in shock.

“I don’t care what you say! I will find father!”, he yelled and then used his super speed to chase after Sesshoumaru.

“Does he know where he is going?”, asked Kagome, worried.

“No, he doesn’t.”, Rin sighed. “He does this quite often, but always gets into trouble. If I had Ah-Un at least, I could have gone after him.”

“Stupid, just like Sesshoumaru.”, Inuyasha said, annoyed. He had overheard everything. “Since the father isn’t here, I guess the uncle will have to do.”

Inuyasha told Rin to hump on his back. They were going to find the youkai child together. They entered Inuyasha’s Forest, as it was called, and picked up his scent. And guess what where it lead? To a military camp. The soldiers of that region were very aware of Inuyasha. They never messed with him. The half demon could sense Seijin all over the place. He told Rin to step back let him deal with it. He knew those men. They would sell anything for the freedom of their military duties, and a youkai kiddo would attract exotic buyers. Inuyasha walked in, confident, showing off his Tetsusaiga.

“Hey, losers. You have ten seconds to bring me the kid.”

“What kid?”

“ONE.”

“We ain’t got nothing for ya, Inuyasha, get lost.”

“TWO.”

“We haven’t seen him!”

“I am getting tired of counting, how about I bring the number down to FIVE?”

“Should we shoot him?”

“Ok, I am done counting!”, Inuyasha got ready for his classical windscar.

The leader of the troop appeared and fell to the hanyou’s knees, begging. “No, Inuyasha, don’t kill us! The demon boy is here! We will release him at once!”

Inuyasha looked upon his shoulder and called Rin. “I told you Seijin was here, Rin.

The soldiers were keeping him in a cage. As soon as they opened it Seijin ran to Rin, and hid behind her legs. That gave her a familiar feeling. 

“You guys are lucky I was the one who came to pick him up. If his father were here instead, you would probably be dead by now.”

“Sesshoumaru isn’t as forgiving as we are. You are warned.”, completed Rin, serious. Seijin thought she sounded a bit like his dad. 

“We are mostly thankful for your mercy!”, the leader replied, bowing his head.

The three of them walked slowly back home. Inuyasha was complaining all the time, about his brother, about the military, and about Seijin. It was obvious he was a little jealous. He wanted his son or daughter to hold the title of first grandchild. Seijin didn’t feel one bit intimidated by his uncle. He was more curious about the fact that even as brothers they could be so different. Inuyasha couldn’t shut his mouth for one second, while Sesshoumaru almost never spoke. Rin didn’t forget to discipline him. Anything she said as a human was ineffective, so she used a foolproof argument.

“Your father will be so disappointed to know you ran off on your own again.”

Seijin took it all in silence, but you could see tears rolling on his face.

“Don’t you remember what your dad and I went through to find you last time? The bad monk was going to kill you and I had to kill him so you could live. We can’t go through this again, okay?!”

“I only want daddy to stay with me and play with me.”

“I know…”, Rin gave him a hug and he accepted it. “I want him to stay too, but he is a very busy demon. He has to take care of his territory, and he is doing it thinking of you.”

“He thinks about me?”, Seijin had to be sure.

“He does. I swear.”, Rin knew he did, or else he wouldn’t have the trouble to find his son a suitable home.

A few days later, Sango and Miroku’s children begged to take Seijin with them to play with the village kids. They had some unusual activities, invented sports and games, in which a great number of young ones could participate. They played hide and seek, and Seijin’s keen senses made him win easily when it was his turn to look for his friends. After that, they played with domestic made balls. Seijin inadvertently isolated one into the woods, and refused to go get it, because of the recent events. One or two boys felt disappointed and bored with him, calling out offensive names. The little demon didn’t know what made them assume that behaviour, and became quieter. Then, they decided to make a running circuit around the village, with lots of obstacles and jumping spots. Seijin was embarrassed about joining in. He could see he was a lot faster than all the kids, and he didn’t want to be made fun of because of that. Sango’s twins tried convincing him otherwise, and told the village kids Seijin was the fastest person alive. Suddenly, everybody started egging on him so he completed the task the best he could. Fired up and stimulated by the commotion, Seijin prepared to run the circuit. He gave it all he had, drifting in the turns with his feet, jumping higher than a hut, avoiding to crash into any adult villager. He was received with applause and cheering screams. The “party” didn’t last long, though. Pairs of parents showed up, and ordered their sons and daughters to stay away from Seijin and come home. Ami, Emi, and Tayouchu, who were there, yelled back, saying it was unfair, but the grown ups didn’t answer them. 

“Why?”, asked Seijin, lost for any more words.

“It is because you’re a youkai”, realised Tayouchu.

“But they’re stupid!”, Ami raged.

“Don’t care about them, Seijin, you have us!”, Emi tried soothing the already sobbing boy.

The three siblings escorted sad Seijin back home. Rin was at the river bed, washing clothes. She couldn’t help but feel upset about what was she was told about. Seijin didn’t want her hug or her comfort, he only wanted his father. If it wasn’t for Inuyasha, again, the young youkai would have run off once more. 

“Listen Rin, I am not his dad to scold him. Sesshoumaru's a softy, it doesn’t seem like he teaches him any manners. I know you’re doing your best, but he’s not as easy as a human child.”

Rin opened her eyes wide, realising it was true. Sesshoumaru was tough, however, when it came to family, he never once raised his voice tone. The only experience he had with children prior do Seijin was with Rin. And yet it was different, for she wasn’t his daughter and he always hoped she would leave one day. Seijin was his blood, his heir, he couldn’t just leave him be. It took almost all Sesshoumaru’s life to learn something valuable from his father, because he knew how stubborn he was. Seijin had inherited the same defect, and Sesshoumaru couldn’t wait a lifetime to correct him. 

Later in the night, Sango and Miroku got visits from fellow villagers, complaining about the mess the little newcomer demon did. He didn’t hurt anyone, neither destroyed anything, but his speeding made dust and pieces of soil fly over food and water, affecting their quality. There were people coughing for inhaling dirty air as well. Rin interfered in the reunion, and bowed to the floor to ask forgiveness in Seijin’s name. She was responsible for him. 

“He’s not a child, he’s a beast! You are not able to control it!”, a farmer said.

“You’re too young and too inexperienced to be a mother!”, a woman who worked in the rice field criticized. “May Kami have mercy on our soul, if you get pregnant and birth another little monster to ruin this village.”

Rin stayed bowed, hiding her teary eyes, facing the ground. 

Kagome was very angry to hear that, and Inuyasha stopped her from arguing with them, it wouldn’t look good for Sango, as the village leader. Miroku, as the positive being that he was, used his charm to calm down the souls of the troubled visitors. 

“We are deeply sorry that this happened. I myself will inspect the food and water tomorrow.”, he promised. “As for Seijin, I beg you patience. This situation is temporary, as his father, Lord Sesshoumaru, said himself.”

Inuyasha and Kagome could hear everything from their bedroom. The hanyou was apprehensive. Kagome hugged him from his back. 

“Do you want to tell me what you’re thinking about?”, she asked, stressed about the insults towards Rin. She was pregnant with a baby with demon blood, after all.

“Doesn’t it hurt when they talk like that?!”, Inuyasha was crying. “I was treated like Seijin all my life. I know how hard it was for my mother. She didn’t deserve this, Rin doesn’t deserve it, and neither will you deserve it when our baby comes.”

“Inuyasha…”, She only wanted to hold him tight.

“If Sesshoumaru had been here, none of this would have been happening. He is letting Rin down.”

“Do you think you should interfere within their relationship?”

“Kagome, we’re involved in it from day one. We brought that goddamn letter. You are family now, and so is Rin and Seijin.”, Inuyasha lifted his head suddenly, as if determined. There was something he needed to do. 

“Where are you going?”, Kagome was puzzled. 

“I am going to find Sesshoumaru, and beat the crap out of him.”

While the half demon went on his quest, the guests in Sango’s home were already gone. There wasn’t a discussion between the married couple. Their loyalty lied with their friends. Miroku truly believed there was a pacific way out, and he was going to work hard for it. Sango was thankful to him. She made a promise to Sesshoumaru, and she was willing to honour it.

Rin was obviously shaken with everything that happened. Even the sun itself has the right to hide sometimes. She collected herself to her room and got her guitar, which she hadn’t touched for weeks. It was hard to remember the songs, so she made one alone. It was gloomy, but still beautiful. When Rin noticed, Seijin was creeping behind her door. 

“Come on in, Seijin.”

He sat by her side and listened to her play and sing. His mother never did that, and neither did Inukimi, his grandmother. He was very fond of Rin’s singing and slowly lied his head down on her lap. 

“Do you want to sleep in here tonight?”

He nodded positively. 

“I know I am not your mother, but you can count on me, ok?”

Seijin snuggled Rin like never before. She caressed his head gently. 

“I know Sesshoumaru will come back, you’ll see.”

“I believe in you.”, he answered, giving Rin new hope and a reason to smile again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Gracias a los lectores de Latinoamérica y España por el apoyo
> 
> I have received some questions in the comments, so I will use this space in the end notes to answer them.
> 
> 1) Seijin's skin tone comes after his mother's. You can read more about her in chapters 4 and 5.
> 
> 2) Shippou and Kohaku are traveling and finding adventures together. You can check it out with more details starting from chapter 11.
> 
> 3) In asian cultures dragons can have a positive meaning and bring good, and I didn't explore it in that way, I am sorry this goes against what is believed to be. That being said, I guess I just went with what my imagination was telling me. This time, the dragon will be the evil one.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first adventure in the Inuyasha fandom. I hope it's good enough for your standards and expectations. If you think this is worth to be continued, please leave a comment.


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